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.
Charles Ibitoye Taofeek Sanusi COEASU Kale Belgore Olofa Of Offa Abdulmajeed Wahab Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence Abdulraheem Yusuf Sambo Murtala Old Oyo Onilorin Of Ilorin Akeem Olatunji Yekeen Alabi Seni Saraki John Mayokun Dada Kwara TV Wahab Agbaje Magaji Are Sodiya Undergraduate Bursary AbdulRazaq Abubakar Jiddah Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu Oniye Mumini Ishola Hanafi Ahmad Ali KWACOBPA Hussein Oloyede Ahmed \'Lateef Waziri Yakubu Gobir Abubakar Abdulraheem Babajide Ajayi Kaiama Oluwarotimi Boluwatife Adenike Mohammed Lawal Abdullahi Saadudeen Alikinla Abegunde Goke Eruku Peter Obi Quareeb Islamic Association Ezekiel Yissa Benjamin Medinat Folorunsho Salman TVC Female National Debate Ibraheem Adeola Katibi Oke-Oyi Javed Khan Abdulsalam A. Yusuf Abdulkareem Alabi Samari Olatunde Jare Ileloke Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs Jebba Joseph Daudu Alikinla Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund Babatunde Ishola Babaita Sobi Specialist Hospital Bashir Badawi Offa Poly Kwara Central Firdaos Amasa Ayo Adeyemi Oko-Erin Aremu Bose Deborah Yakubu Dogara Ilorin Innovation Hub Baba Issa Awoye Adamu Attah Emir Of Kano Jimoh Bashir Maigida Soludero Transit Tunji Oyawoye ER-KANG Bamidele Adegoke Oloje Soffiyyallah Kamaldeen Michael Nzwekwe

