Bamanga Tukur
A number of National Assembly members backing the new faction of the People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) Wednesday asked the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, to restrain the chairman of the ruling political party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, from declaring their seats vacant.
The plaintiffs, 22 Senators and 57 House of Representatives’ members, said that the division within the party informed the holding of a parallel convention.
According to them, their agitations and eventual breakaway are justified legally and thus constitutional.
Tukur, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are listed as first, second, third, fourth and fifth defendants respectively.
In the suit filed by Tairu Adebayo, the lawmakers asked the court to determine the following questions:
• Whether considering the circumstances in the national and various state chapters of the PDP, there exists a faction or division within the party;
• Whether any of the plaintiffs or any other member of the PDP holding elective seats who desires to become a member of another faction of the party or any other political party is not saved by the proviso to Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended; and-
• Whether in view of the proviso to Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the first defendant or any other officer of the fourth defendant or authority can declare the seat of any of the plaintiffs or other members of the fourth defendant that opted to join another political party vacant in the precarious circumstance of the fourth defendant.
The plaintiffs in the suit they filed through their lawyer, Mr Tairu Adebayo, maintained that it was the division within the party that occasioned the holding of a parallel convention, saying they were justified legally to defect.
The case is yet to be assigned to any judge for adjudication.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak yesterday said some of the demands being made by the aggrieved governors of the PDP were unconstitutional.
He told State House correspondents on Tuesday that the “Leaders are discussing. This issue with PDP is not uncommon, they are not unexpected. PDP is the biggest party in Africa and the only national party in Nigeria. Everybody wants to belong to PDP and there exist various shades of opinions, that is why in a party like this, we are bound to disagree to agree.
“We have the internal mechanisms to sort out ourselves. I’m assuring you that this so-called crisis would be a thing of the past. We are on peace course, we are discussing some of the demands that you media men are speculating are unconstitutional. These demands would not be in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and certain demands would not be in accordance with the party’s constitution.
“What we are saying is that the elders are talking. We are talking in accordance with the law of the land and of the party.” he said.
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