From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court will today deliver judgment in a suit seeking to sack Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, and his deputy, Ivara Esu, over their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/975/2021, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through its counsel, Emmanuel Ukala, is seeking an order sacking the governor and his deputy on account of their defection to APC.
Already, Taiwo had, in his earlier judgment on Monday, ordered two House of Representatives members representing Cross River and 18 lawmakers from the state’s House of Assembly to vacate their seats, following their defection to APC.
Ayade was elected on the platform of the PDP in 2015 and 2019, but decamped to APC on May 20, 2021 along with his deputy, and declared that Cross River State is ‘now an APC state’ and effectively caused the governance of the state to be in the control of APC.
PDP argued that the mandate given by the electorate in Cross River State was to the party and Ayade as the candidate of the party at the election, and that the governor cannot transfer the mandate to APC or any other political party.
The plaintiff is equally seeking a judicial declaration giving it an opportunity to nominate a replacement to the seat of the governor and the deputy in Cross River State.
“A declaration that in view of the provisions of Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the democratic system of governance operated in Nigeria, votes at the election and elections are won by political parties and not their candidate or the candidates sponsored at the election by the political parties.”
The party is also seeking an order directing the1st defendant (Independent National Electoral Commission) “to immediately receive from the plaintiff (PDP), the name of its candidates to replace the 3rd and 4th defendants (Ayade and Esu) for the purpose of utilising the lawful votes cast in favour of the plaintiff or in the alternative directing the 1st defendant to hold a governorship election for Cross River State in accordance with Section 177 © of the constitution (excluding the 3rd and 4th defendants who are disqualified from participating in the election by virtue of Section 192 (1) (b) of the constitution) arising from abandonment of the majority lawful votes and the offices occasioned by the action of the 3rd and 4th defendants by reason of their becoming members of the 2nd defendant who did not win majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.”
Another judge of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Justice Ekwo, had, in his judgment in a similar suit, ordered Governor Dave Umahi of Eboyi State, his deputy and 16 members of the state House of Assembly to vacate their seats on account of their decamping to the APC.