Wednesday, April 2, 2014

We won’t vacate our seats – Defected Reps



 File Photo: Cross section of  House of Representatives members at the National Assembly in Abuja Photo : Gbemiga Olamikan

THE 37 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of the House of Representatives, who defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, appealed Justice Adeniyi Ademola’s ruling that they illegally left the PDP for the APC and, therefore, should resign.
Describing the ruling as a miscarriage of justice, the lawmakers vowed not to vacate their seats because there is no court judgment in the House of Representatives directing them to do so.
In the appeal papers filed on their behalf by M. A. Mahmud, SAN & Co, which have been sent to Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, the applicants said the trial judge erred in law when he dismissed the appellants’ preliminary objection on grounds that the suit was not competent.
They listed particulars of error to include:
•The judge did not advert his mind to provisions of Section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution; failed to reckon his mind with the provisions of Section 60 and failed to follow the decisions in the cases of Attorney General of the Federation and 22 others.
They also contended  that the judge erred when he refused to hold that the first respondent does not have the locus standi to institute the suit, when he granted the reliefs of the first respondent and went further to hold that the 1st -39th respondents ought to have resigned their seats.
•That the first respondent’s suit was predicated upon speculations and that the reliefs sought were not justifiable, unknown to law and do not disclose any cause of action against the appellants.
In all, the defected members mentioned seven particulars of error and sought an order setting aside the decision of the Federal High Court as well as an order allowing the appeal.

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