Defection: Court Sacks Ali Ahmad, Moshood Mustapha and 35 Other Reps.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered 37 former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resign their seats at the House of Representatives for defecting to the All Progressives Congress, (APC).
Delivering judgment, Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that the defected lawmakers no longer had any business, morally and legally, to stay in the House of Reps.
He said they should honourably resign from their seats as members of the House of Representative , having moved to another political party, while their tenure had yet to expire.
“Having perused the arguments of counsel and the constitutional provisions, it is clear and unambiguous that the defendants were sponsored by the PDP and won the election on its platform.
“It is also the court’s opinion that their tenure has not expired and there is no division in the PDP.
“The defendants are, therefore, not competent to vote or contribute to any proceedings in the House of Representatives.
“An order of perpetual injunction is, hereby, ordered, restraining them from altering or attempting to change the leadership of the House of Reps,’’ Ademola said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP had on Jan. 7 instituted a suit seeking to restrain the House of Representatives from altering the composition of its leadership.
The party had commenced the action following the defection of 37 lawmakers, who won election on its platform, to the opposition APC.
Mr Yunus Usman (SAN), PDP’s counsel had, while arguing his originating summons, faulted the cross-carpeting of the lawmakers, saying that the legislators did so during the dependency of a judgment.
He argued that by virtue of the Oct. 2013 judgment of Justice Evoh Chukwu, which said there was no division in PDP, the matter had been laid to rest.
Usman had further submitted that by virtue of the provision of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, as amended, the lawmakers ought to have vacated their seats immediately.
Mr Mamoud Magaji (SAN), counsel to the defendants, had in his submission, argued that it was wrong for the PDP to have sought to restrain its former members from House activities for defecting.
Other defence counsel, Mr Niyi Akintola, SAN, Mr Sebastian Hon, SAN, Mr James Ocholi,SAN, Mr Abiodun Owonikoko,SAN, and Jibril Okutepa,SAN, had prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
(NAN)
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
JMK Construction Company Limited Iyaloja-General Ahmed Bolaji Nagode Rafiu Ajakaye Abdulfatah Ahmed Arik Niyi Ogundiran Yakubu Mohammed Abdullahi Labour Party Oyedepo Women Radio Ubandawaki Sulaiman Gado Oke-Ero Alloy Chukwuemeka Adisa Logun Gbemi Saraki Bareke Segun Olawoyin Oke-Ogun Kwara NIPR Law School Scholarship Split Diamond Interchange Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye Rasheed Jimoh General Hospital, Offa Balogun Ajikobi Association Of Kwara State Online Media Practitioners Yusuf Abdulraheem Ganmo New Nigeria People’s Party Funke Adedoyin Olabanji Orilonishe Igbaja Chartered Institute Of Personnel Management Of Nigeria AGM Professional Services Abubakar Imam Javed Khan Ahmed Shuaib Buranga SARS UNILORIN Alumni Association Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore AIT Ilorin Moronfoye Kwara State Sports Commission CUTI Osi Kwara State Football Association Babata CT Ayeni Abdulazeez Uthman Mohammed Alabi Lawal KwaraLearn Shehu Alimi Foundation Olosi Of Osi Ilorin Talaka Parapo Toyin Abdullahi Yakub Ali-Agan Rotimi Samuel Olujide Segun Ogunsola Shero Funmilayo Zubair ER-KANG Mining Nigeria Company Limited Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board Abubakar Abdulraheem Alabi Olayemi Abdulrazak Shettima Of Ilorin Samuel Elizabeth Keatswa Harrison Osauwagboe Kwabes Saidu Yaro Musa School Of Nursing Isau Oladipo Akanmu Tolani Olayinka Olaogun Oke-Oyi

