The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lived out its threat by instituting a suit against its five former governors who defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).  The PDP is praying the court to declare vacant the seats of these governors.

The die is now cast, with the G-5 governors’ formal notification of PDP’s national leader and Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan of their final exit from the ruling party. A meeting between the G5 governors and Jonathan, with other party leaders last Sunday night at Aso Villa failed to reach a reconciliatory truce.

Five governors on the platform of the PDP had publicly declared for the opposition APC. They included Murtala Nyako  (Adamawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso  (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko  (Sokoto), Abdulfattah Ahmed  (Kwara) and Rotimi Amaechi  (Rivers).

Reports indicated that the defected governors who declared for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) again stuck to their guns of dumping the mainstream PDP.  

Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, who delivered their collective resolve to President Jonathan, briefed State House correspondents after the parley.

“I have already briefed Mr. President on our position as G-5,  that we are no longer in the PDP mainstream and that we are already in another party. We cannot just be going about talking. We had to come and tell them the truth, where the truth must be told and that’s why we came here”, Wamakko said. 

Expectedly, the battle to tame the unbending PDP rebel governors is resonating louder in the polity. Sunday Trust gathered that before last Sunday’s meeting with Jonathan and other PDP leaders,  reports authored by the APC  were rife,   alleging that the  party and the Presidency are  angling for the  removal  from office of  the  defectors, through a court process for abandoning the party on whose platform they were elected into office.

APC, the beneficiary of the defection had thrown into public domain these allegations, as it laid claim to a conspiratorial plot to oust the “rebellious” governors from their seats. 

APC’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed had alleged: “We have irrefutable evidence that the PDP is desperately shopping for a pliant judge who will be heavily induced to declare vacant the seats of the five governors who recently defected to the APC. We also have the names of the lawyers who have been retained by the PDP for the hatchet job.”

In tacit agreement with this allegation, National Secretary, Oliseh Metuh   in a statement in Abuja, said the party would not deploy any unlawful means in dealing with the defected members.

“All issues affecting the party and its dissenting members would be handled in accordance with the provisions of Nigeria’s Constitution and the constitution of the party”, Metuh said.

On Thursday in Abuja the national secretariat of the PDP indeed sued the G-5 Governors at an Abuja High Court and joined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 

In the case filed by PDP’s counsel, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN) the PDP cited Sections 177 (c), 221 and 222 (c) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria to back up the legal quest to oust the governors. The party is also praying the court that by the combined reading of the sections, the affectd ogvernors elected on the platform of the party cannot continue to enjoy the mandate given to them.

 The PDP is also praying the court that among others, in the absence of any faction in the party known and recognized by law, the court should declare the seats of the plaintiffs vacant.    

While the PDP considered the legal option   against the defectors,    a few days earlier, APGA’s national publicity,  Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi  also hinted of his party’s intention to institute a suit against Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, formaly of APGA  for defecting to the APC.  

Fielding questions from reporters in Abuja, Shinkafi argued that it was morally wrong to dump the ideals of a party that gave anybody a mandate. But he failed to anchor his party’s position on possible violations of any law in the statutes books.  Okorocha had defected to APC months back, yet APGA remained mute, until PDP started mulling the option of court in handling its dissenting members. 

Undoubtedly, anxiety and apprehension has once again hit the polity, especially in states controlled by the G-5. It is observed that the states have supporters of the opposing parties and the possibility of ousting the incumbents through the court has deepened animosity between the rival camps. 

Speaking with Sunday Trust on the matter , an Abuja based lawyer, Joe Abaagu of Lex Capital Lawyers said, going by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended  and the  Electoral Act 2010 as amended,   the PDP may  not have a water-tight case against the defected governors. 

He opined that on the strength of legal precedents   over similar cases in the past, the G-5 Governors were only exercising their fundamental right of freedom of association as guaranteed by law.  

Abaagu said,  the suit filed  by the PDP against the  defected governors relied on Sections 177(c), 221 and 222(c)  of the 1999 Constitution, which mainly prescribes that a candidate must vie for elective office on the platform of a political party.  

Also,   Ahmed Raji (SAN) contended that the G-5 Governors have the right of association, guaranteed  by law. But he added that the law is clear on the part of the lawmakers from the affected states,  who  would have to prove that there exists a division within their party, warranting the cross carpeting.

“The governors have exercised their rights to associate with other persons of their choice and that is constitutionally guaranteed as far as the executive governors are concerned. As for the legislators, the law is very clear. They cannot leave their party except they can prove that there is division within their party, so the question will now be that: is there a division in the ruling PDP? I am not ready to give you an answer on it. That is left for the Court to determine”, he said.

However,  Abubakar Malami (SAN ) said  that  what has happened with the governors, who  moved  into the APC was only a mere  fraction  of key members of the PDP  that joined  the APC and not a merger of the PDP with the APC.

Agreeing with other legal experts, he said that the position of the law is that when there is no faction within a party, any lawmaker, who dumps his party for another was likely to lose his seat. But where there is a faction in his former party, legally, it does not carry any weight or legal implication.

“Factually the court will have to determine if there exists two leaderships within the party and until this is determined by the Supreme Court, the lawmakers have the benefit of the doubt”, Malami  said.