A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja,
on Wednesday, turned down a request by the embattled senator representing
Ondo North senatorial district, Professor Ajayi Boroffice, seeking to stop the
Senate from declaring his seat vacant, following his defection to the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) from the Labour Party (LP) that sponsored him for the
election.
Senate Ethics Committee had
reportedly recommended that his seat be declared vacant, the consequence of his
alleged contravention of Section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“A member of the Senate or the
House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House if: 1(g): “being a
person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he
becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period
for which that House was elected; provided that his membership of the latter
political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of
which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political
parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored,” the section
read.
Boroffice had claimed in a letter
dated January 10, 2012 to the Senate President, David Mark, that he defected
because LP had become factionalised in Ondo State, with a copy of same made
available to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega.
INEC, in a letter dated September
13, 2012 and signed by its secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, contradicted the claim
of division in LP, noting that “the commission hereby confirms that it has no
record of any division in the LP to justify your resignation from the party.
Section 68 (1) (g) does not operate in your favour as there is no division in
the LP.”
With the Senate set to debate the
report of its committee, Boroffice approached the court with an ex parte
application, seeking an interim order restraining the Senate from going ahead
with the planned consideration of the report, which reportedly recommended his
removal, pending the determination of his originating summons.
While moving his application, his
lawyer, Olumide Olujinmi, told the presiding judge that his client was seeking
the interim injunction because the Senate had concluded plans to declare his
seat vacant before the end of the week.
In a short ruling, the judge held
that “after considering the argument and documents placed before the court, I
hereby direct that the plaintiff/applicant (Boroffice) put all the respondents
on notice and serve them with all the application.”
He subsequently adjourned till
October 23.