Court Ask 37 Defecting PDP House Of Reps Members To Vacate Seat

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, from effecting any leadership change in the House of Representatives.

Delivering judgment, Justice Adeniyi Ademola lambasted the decampee lawmakers. He said they no longer had any business, morally and legally, to stay in the House of Representatives.

He said they should honourably resign from their seats as members, 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,” Mr. Ademola said.

The PDP had on January 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. The defection had initially given the APC a slim majority in the House. The majority was later reversed when some APC lawmakers decamped to the PDP.

The PDP’s counsel, Yunus Usman, 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 October 2013 judgment of Justice Evoh Chukwu, which he claimed said there was no division in PDP, the matter had been laid to rest.

Mr. 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.

The counsel to the defendants, Mamoud Magaji, 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, Niyi Akintola, Sebastian Hon, James Ocholi, Abiodun Owonikoko, and Jibril Okutepa had prayed the court to dismiss the suit


CKN NEWS

Chris Kehinde Nwandu is the Editor In Chief of CKNNEWS || He is a Law graduate and an Alumnus of Lagos State University, Lead City University Ibadan and Nigerian Institute Of Journalism || With over 2 decades practice in Journalism, PR and Advertising, he is a member of several Professional bodies within and outside Nigeria || Member: Institute Of Chartered Arbitrators ( UK ) || Member : Institute of Chartered Mediators And Conciliation || Member : Nigerian Institute Of Public Relations || Member : Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria || Fellow : Institute of Personality Development And Customer Relationship Management || Member and Chairman Board Of Trustees: Guild Of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria

12 Comments

  1. This is democracy in action, victory to democracy

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  2. this is just the beginning, they will all go back to PDP begging for relevance and pardon, by then it most have been too late for them.

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  3. http://tasks4job.com/?refer=75064. Pls click the link above and I will be paid for it thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can u imagine this virus ?

      Delete
  4. See trouble dey sleep iyanga dey go wake am.Hw these betrayers go do? Well i trust naija politicians they will shamelessly return to PDP & start talking negatively about APC.They hv done it b4 & they will continue doing it.Shameless politifians & not politicians.

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  5. This judgement can't stand. It is a paid PDP judgement. PDP is dead and buried .

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    Replies
    1. Yes I agree with u bcause the supreme court will be the next stop, abi?

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  6. I agree with the honourable Justice. If it is allowed to stand that a polically elected official can cross-carpet and still retain his seat, then the electorates who with belief in the manifesto of the polical part voted for him are implicitly reckoned stupid.
    It's more honourable to resign and fight from the opposition side, campaigne and re-contest. Yes... If they are not unscrupulous opportunists.
    If I love your personality and ideology, during the next elections, I'll vote for you.

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  7. It is apparent that this judge is a PDP card carrier. It will not stand.

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  8. Gbam dats a good omen let APGA fight Okorocha too

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  9. This judgment egrees with the dictum: you cannot bite the fingers that feed you. I suggest they should be fined to deter other.

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  10. lobahton

    ReplyDelete
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