APC Berates PDP Over Attempt To Block Leadership Change In House Of Reps

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as an act of abuse of court process, the moves by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  to use the judiciary to stop the impending leadership change in the National Assembly, following the defection of 37 members of the ruling party in the House of Representatives to the APC.

The PDP had approached the court to obtain an injunction that will forestall the change of leadership in the House.

In a statement yesterday by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said apart from the fact that the sole plaintiff in the case, the PDP, was incompetent and an interloper, the action itself was an abuse of court process, in view of a pending and subsisting order of the Federal High Court between the two parties.

‘’This attempt to use the judiciary, which is one arm of government, to stop another arm of government from performing its constitutional duty, is patently illegal as it is a known fact that the principle of separation of powers, as upheld by the Supreme Court, forbids an arm of government from stopping, suspending or otherwise interfering with the functions of another arm,’’ it added.

The party said what the PDP was attempting to do with its misguided case was akin to the APC seeking to use the judiciary to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from reshuffling his cabinet or firing a minister.

According to the party, PDP should have waited until an action has been taken and then go to court to nullify it rather than stopping such action from taking place.

“Any order of a lower court purporting to stop members of the National Assembly from attending the House or conducting any proceedings or voting is incompetent, illegal and contrary to the well-established jurisprudence enunciated by the Supreme Court,’’ it added.

The party recalled that, in an earlier statement, it had alerted the nation to the plan by the PDP and the presidency to use pliant judges to obtain illegal court orders to achieve their diabolical aims.

It warned politicians not to drag the judiciary into politics, saying such an action would be a throwback to the better-forgotten days of the regime of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.
‘’As for the judiciary, we are confident that our judicial officers will not allow themselves to be used for selfish, political end as they have judicial aspirations to pursue and their good names to protect,’’ APC said.