The Federal High Court in Abuja will on Friday (today), deliver judgment in a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking to sack Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade and his deputy, Prof Ivara Ejemot Esu, from office over their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP in a suit, FHC/ABJ/ CS/975/2021, through its counsel, Emmanuel Ukala, is seeking an order sacking the governor and his deputy on account of their defection to APC.
Already presiding judge, Justice Taiwo 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 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 the APC.
The party (PDP) argued that the mandate given by the electorate in Cross River State was to the PDP 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 governor in Cross River State.
‘A declaration that in view of the provisions of section 221 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (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 (INEC) ‘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 gubernatorial election for Cross River State in accordance with Section 177(C) 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 the 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 a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.’
Another judge of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Justice Inyang Ekwo had in his judgment in a similar suit ordered Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, his deputy and 16 members of the state House of Assembly to vacate their seats on account of their decamping to the APC.
