PDP wants defected N’Assembly members’ seats declared vacant

National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’Azu

The Peoples Democratic Party has asked an Abuja Federal High Court to order the Senate President, David Mark, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to declare the seats of 11 Senators and 37 members of the House of Representatives who decamped to the All Progressives Congress vacant.

Two judges of the Abuja FHC, Justice Ahmed Mohammed and Justice Adeniyi Ademola, had already fixed March 26 and 25, respectively, to deliver judgment in two related suits – one filed by the defected lawmakers to forestall plans to declare their seats vacant, and another brought by the PDP to stop the House of Representatives from changing its principal officers.

However, even as the two parties await the outcome of the pending suits, the PDP has approached the court with two fresh applications, seeking an order of mandamus compelling the Senate President and the Speaker to declare the seats of the defectors vacant.

The PDP also asked the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately organise and conduct elections to fill the seats of the defected lawmakers.

In the suit against the defected Senators, which was filed by its counsel, Amaechi Nwaiwu, SAN, PDP listed the defectors whose seats it wanted the court to declare vacant as Abdulahi Adamu, Mohammed Ali Ndume, Umaru Dahiru, Muhammed Shaaba Lafiaji, Bukola Saraki, Magnus Abe, Wilson Ake, Danjume Goje, Bindowo Mohammed Jibrilla, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan and Ibrahim Gobir.

In the same vein, the suit brought against defectors in the House of Representatives, which was filed by Paul Erokoro, SAN, has the defected lawmakers as the defendants.

PDP in the two suits insisted that the defected lawmakers must lose their seats because they decamped to the APC without complying with the provisions of section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which allows for defection in cases where there is division within political parties.

The party said there was no division within its ranks to warrant the lawful defection of the lawmakers who were elected on its platform.

It asked the court to determine whether, by virtue of the provisions of section 68 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, the Senate President and the Speaker do not owe a legal duty to declare vacant the seats of the lawmakers who defected to APC without satisfying the conditions stipulated under section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution.

The defected lawmakers are yet to file their responses to the fresh suit, which will come up for hearing on March 26.