Politics

Defection suit: Umahi, deputy know fate March 8

Published

3 years ago

January 20, 2022

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi

Abuja division of the Federal High Court has fixed March 8 and 14 to deliver judgments in the multiple suits filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking the removal of Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, and his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, from office on account of their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the dates after counsel in the suits marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 920/21 and FHC/ABJ/CS/ 1041/21 had adopted their briefs of arguments.

In an originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/920/2021, PDP urged the court to make a declaration that by defecting from the party on which they were sponsored and elected to a political party that did not win the election, they have resigned or deemed to have resigned from office.

The crux of the plaintiff’s case is that the defendants purportedly defected and relinquished their PDP membership on which platform they contested and won the governorship election, and, by so doing, are deemed to have lost the majority votes scored at the election and consequently should be ordered by the court to vacate their respective offices as governor and deputy governor of Ebonyi State.

Other defendants in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.

However, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former attorney general of Imo State, who is counsel to Governor Umahi and his deputy, urged the court to decline jurisdiction and transfer the case to Ebonyi State. He particularly drew the attention of the court to the fact that Nigeria is a federation with 36 states, including Ebonyi State.

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Ume argued that since Governor Umahi was sworn in by the chief judge of Ebonyi State and not by the chief judge of the Federal High Court, his removal from office can only be pursued through the state House of Assembly and the state High Court.

Meanwhile, Umahi and Igwe have approached the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal for the interpretation of some constitutional issues arising from the suit filed by PDP challenging their defection. The applicants in their motion requested the appellate court to restore the powers of state high courts as the only courts vested with the exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine the question as to whether the term of office of a member of the House of Assembly of a state, a governor or deputy governor has ceased or become vacant.

Counsel to the applicants consequently filed a motion seeking the declaration by the court that Section 272 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, which vested such powers on the Federal High Court as a scrivener’s error.

The motion, which was brought pursuant to Sections 295 (2); 272(3); 6(2) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 20 and 29 of the Interpretation Act, has requested the order of the Federal High Court for an order referring some constitutional questions to the Court of Appeal for its opinion.

The affected constitutional provisions are sections 2; 4(6); 5 (2); 6 (1) & (2); 6(5) (a) -(e); 186; Chapter VII; Chapter VII Part II; sections 270 (1) and 272 (1); (2) and(3).

The applicants request the opinion of the Court of Appeal as to “Whether by the community reading of the above provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) more particularly by the express provisions in sections 232(1) 239(1) (a) – (c) and 251(4) each vesting original jurisdiction on the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court on matters on the exclusive legislative list and federal political office holders, the phrase Federal High Court as found in Section 272 (3) (aka Section 28, Act No 1 of 2010) is not a mere or should not be read scrivener’s error or devil’s printer?

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“Whether the Court should not order the phrase Federal High Court as found in Section 272 (3) (aka section 28, Act No 1 of 2010) to be read and understood as state High Court which rightly conforms with the spirit of the federal system of government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) vesting exclusive original jurisdiction on the High Court of the states of the federation to “hear and determine the question as to whether the term of office of a member of the House of Assembly of a state, a governor or deputy governor has ceased or become vacant?

Before the trial court, the applicants had filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the suit by the PDP, wherein, they argued hat Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution has provided immunity to them from the plaintiff’s suit and that votes cast during the said elections are by the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) an recent Supreme Court pronouncements belong to them and recent Supreme Court pronouncement belongs to them and not the plaintiff/respondent.

Furthermore, they contested that being Ebonyi State governor and deputy governor sworn into offices by the chief judge of Ebonyi State they cannot be liable to be removed from their offices by a Federal High Court.

Sun

Politics

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Published

22 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

IIiya Umar Damagum

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Few days after governors on the platform of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) handed down an ultimatum for things to change in the party, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun has moved against the FCT Minister and his loyal lawmakers, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Damagun in a letter addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dated 13th November 2024 and released on Sunday by the spokesperson of the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere urged the electoral umpire to conduct a bye-election to fill up the 27 seats, they vacated to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Wike has been accused of being behind the crisis in the PDP over his disagreement with the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara, his successor.

The crisis which started over control of resources divided the party in the state with 27 lawmakers in the state assembly siding Wike and defected to the APC following Wike’s acceptance to serve in the government of the APC.

He has also been accused of working in cahoots with Damagun to damage the PDP by not organising the National Executive Committee which would lead to the acting Chairman’s ouster.

After a series of agitation, the latest being from the PDP Governors’ Forum over the weekend, Damagun has demanded that INEC conduct elections as soon as possible, apparently moving against the FCT minister.

He argued in letter titled, ‘DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE CONDUCT OF FRESH ELECTION IN 27 STATE CONSTITUENCIES OF RIVERS STATE WHICH HAVE BECOME VACANT PURSUANT TO SECTION 109(1)(g) OF THE CONSTITUTION’ that it’s “unlawful” for the 27 members to defect.

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The members defected to the APC on December 11, 2023.

Damagun said, going by provisions of the Constitution, the lawmakers are no longer members of the Assembly.

The PDP acting chairman therefore urged the Commission to perform its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the former Assembly members.

Parts of the letter read, “The Leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our Party, the PDP who sponsored their elections to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.

“The Commission may recall that our Party, the PDP nominated all our 32 State House of Assembly candidates in Rivers State for the 2023 General Election on the 7th of July 2022 via your electronic candidate election nomination portal (See attached acknowledgement).

“The Commission may also recall that following the nomination, the Commission conducted election into the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 18th of March, 2023 and our Party won 32 seats in the state Assembly. The elected State House of Assembly members were inaugurated and sworn-in on June, 2023.

“However, on Monday, 11 December, 2023 a period of just six (6) months after inauguration, 27 out of the 32 members publicly announced their defection from our Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC). This defection is a gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended).

“The only two grounds of division and merger provided for in the Constitution that permit such defection are completely non-existent in our political Party. It therefore means that the defections of the 27 members are without lawful excuse and these members have vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the operations of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

“In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand that the Commission performs its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting a Fresh Election to fill the vacancies created in the 27 State Constituencies by the unlawful act of the Assembly members. Find attached the list of the 27 State Assembly Members and their Constituencies.

“While thanking the Commission for its commitment to deepening democracy in our country, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Politics

Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

Published

1 day ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

Nigeria would have been better than what it is currently if Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), had won the 2023 elections, the senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said.

Abaribe, who spoke on ‘Politics Today,’ a Channels Television programme, on Monday, said Obi would not have been as nepotistic as the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government; he won’t; it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”

The lawmaker called attention to Tinubu’s appointment of four ministers from Ogun alone, noting that many other states have just one.

“I say it, and I don’t think so. We are seeing it everyday. I just gave you one example. How can Ogun state have four ministers? Why does he favour Ogun state? Oyo state has only one minister,” Abaribe said.

”The nepotism of Buhari, which nobody followed, has now deepened under President Tinubu because Buhari did it, and nobody said much. I was the only person shouting.”

He said that rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the people of the south-east, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive.

“It’s obvious that if we continue to look at whoever becomes president, they will look at us and do us right. Apart from Obasanjo and maybe Jonathan, I do not think that we have seen that same type of fairness,” he said.

Politics

Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

Published

2 days ago

November 25, 2024

Trends Admin

Seyi Tinubu

Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, has been tipped for the seat of Lagos governor in the 2027 governorship election.

This was according to a video making the rounds on various social media platforms, which Peoples Gazette saw on Sunday.

The video highlights the president’s son’s biography, focusing on his education, career, and humanitarian activities as a Nigerian. It also documents his involvement in youth development in the country.

This biopic comes on the heels of some groups’ endorsements of Mr Tinubu’s son as a potential successor to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027.

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On Tuesday, the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders issued an endorsement in Owerri, Imo, suggesting that the younger Tinubu would be welcomed to contest the governorship seat in Osun or Imo.

He was also endorsed by Friends of Seyi, a group emphasising his vision and intellectual wherewithal to govern the country’s commercial nerve.

APC chieftain Joe Igbokwe, however, described the gale of endorsements as a ploy to undermine the president in a Facebook post.

“Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos governor? This is a needless distraction,” said Mr Igbokwe. “To pull PBAT down is their target. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys.”