… from all indications more elected political officers may backpedal to PDP
…also, Senator Oduah and others maybe heading back to PDP
By Emman Ovuakporie
The Abuja Federal High Court judgment that sent Governor Dave Umahi packing has sent most Peoples Democratic Party, PDP defectors into panic mode as Umahi’s cold has given such decampees acute flu.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) in this brief analysis will take a look at how this development has placed some of these decampees into a panic mode.
From all indications, all Federal lawmakers that defected from 2019 till date may have a case to answer because the watertight judgement is laced around the fact that no individual has the right to transfer the votes of his original party to another.
Call it an iron fist judgment but the crux of the matter is that the valid votes of one party cannot be transferred into another party.
The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the total number of 393, 042 votes governor Umahi secured during the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Ebonyi state, belonged to the PDP and same could not be legally transferred to the APC.
According to the court, having defected to the APC, both Umahi and his deputy, not only jettisoned the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to it.
It held that going by the outcome of the governorship election, the office of the governor and deputy governor in Ebonyi state, “belong to the Plaintiff and no other political party”.
This development also affected 16 Ebonyi State legislators, if the appellate courts support this judgment, the fate of other PDP defectors including governors will rest squarely on the balance.
To this end, a concerned indigene of Anambra has gone to court challenging, Rep Chris Azubuogu who defected from PDP to APGA to declare his seat vacant.
Hear his grounds: Concerned indigene of Nnewi, Stanley Okpala dragged Hon. Chris Emeka Azubogu of the House of Representatives to Court, seeking that his seat be declared vacant.
The Plaintiff in his originating Summons with suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/324/2022 filed by his lawyers Johnmary C. Jideobi and Ndubuisi Oko Ukpai, Esq. is also asking the court to cancel (Hon. Chris Emeka Azubogu), the 1st defendant’s certificate of return.
Mr. Okpala’s sole issue was whether upon an intimate reading and complete understanding of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, and especially in view of the decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court in Abegundu v. Ondo State House of Assembly, (2015) 8 NWLR. Part 1461 Page 314, the 1st Defendant who defected to the All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] from the People’s Democratic Party [on which platform he was elected Member of the Federal House of Representatives and where there was no faction as at time of his defection] ought not to have his seat in the House of Representatives declared vacant by this Honourable Court?
Other defendants in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Peoples Democratic Party, sued as 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.
According to Mr. Okpala, He is entitled to the following reliefs from the Honourable Court against the Defendant.
A DECLARATION of the Court that upon an intimate reading and complete understanding of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, and especially in view of the decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court in Abegundu v. Ondo State House of Assembly, (2015) 8 NWLR. Part 1461 Page 314, the 1st Defendant who defected to the All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] from the People’s Democratic Party [on which platform he was elected Member of the Federal House of Representatives and where there was no faction as at time of his defection] ought to have his seat in the House of Representatives declared vacant by the Court.
AN ORDER of Court declaring vacant the seat of CHRIS EMEKA AZUBOGU and cancelling his Certificate of Return issued to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
More of these challenges will soon mount the centre stage as the 2023 general elections approaches.
Also, there are speculations that Senator Stella Oduah and some Federal lawmakers that defected from PDP may backpedal soon.
Although unconfirmed sources claim that anytime from now Oduah maybe heading back to her original party the PDP.
TNG recalls that since 2019, it was almost on a daily basis that lawmakers were defecting particularlly at the Federal legislature in a bid to grab juicy committees or out of sheer greed.
This judgment may just change the narrative if it flies through the appellate courts.
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