Rauf Aregbesola
The immediate past minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has been dragged to court by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State for allegedly causing division within the party.
Recall that last year, Aregbesola had launched what he called the Omoluabi Caucus of the Osun APC in Ilesa.
Members of the caucus were drawn from each of the 332 wards in the state and were represented by five members from each of the local governments in the state at the launch of the group.
Speaking at the launch of the caucus, Aregbesola, insisted that the Omoluabi Caucus was not a faction of the APC, but a group of founding members of the party.
However, in a fresh development, an assistant secretary of the Osun APC, Waheed Adeniran, in an affidavit in support of Originating Summons filed by the party’s lawyer, Ayodele Kusamotu, prayed the court to declare Aregbesola’s formation of a group called Omoluabi Caucus, an act of anti-party.
The suit marked FHC/OS/CS/1/2024 has the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as a defendant.
Also joined as defendants were former member of the House of Representatives, Rasheed Afolabi, and Lani Baderinwa, who served in Aregbesola’s cabinet as the Commissioner for Information.
The Osun APC wants the court to make “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st defendant from attending or recognising or accepting any congress or convention held or to be held by the 2nd -4th defendants and any other persons associating with them in their factional and parallel political group or association for the purpose of inaugurating or constituting the Executive Council or Committee of the plaintiff at any level or nominating candidates for any elective positions under the provisions of the Constitution the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in the name or on the platform of the plaintiff.”
The plaintiff is also seeking “an order prohibiting the illegal factional and parallel association of the 2nd-4th defendants launched as Omoluabi Progressives (APC) in similar or same name of the plaintiff impersonating the plaintiff’s registered logo, symbol and slogan to function as a political group.
“General damages of N5m jointly or severally against the 2nd-4th defendants in favour of the plaintiff.”
