A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, gave an order
of perpetual injunction restraining the lawmakers who defected from the PDP to
the APC from effecting any leadership change.
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.
SOURCE: Daily Post
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