The fate of 16 members of the Plateau State House of Assembly hangs in the balance as the Speaker, Gabriel Dewan, said he’s only recognising eight members of the House.
Dewan, the only member of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) was elected speaker in the wake of the sack of the 16 PDP lawmakers.
The Appeal Court had sacked 16 members elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the premise that the party had no structure as at the time they were nominated as candidates and therefore lacked the legitimacy to be sponsored by the party.
The court had asked the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to withdraw their certificates of return and issue them to the APC members. The electoral body had subsequently issued them with CoR.
However Friday’s judgment of the Supreme Court seemed to have stoked fresh political crisis in the state. The court had overruled the appellate court in saying that the sack of the 16 PDP members were unjustified.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the unanimous judgment of the 5-man panel allowed the appeal filed Governor Caleb Mutfwang against his sack by the Court of Appeal.
Agim had contended that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate have no locus standi to have delved into the internal affairs of another political party.
He regretted that unfortunately some people had suffered from the unjustified judgment of the Appeal Court.
Justice John Okoro, in his own summation had said, “My worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of this.”
The judgment appeared to have been emboldened the speaker to state that he does not recognise the APC members who benefitted from the judgment
Dewan speaking to newsmen in Jos said that the pronouncement of the Supreme Court, which is the highest court of the land had cancelled the earlier position of the lower court, stressing “As it stands now only eight recognised are recognised as members in the assembly.”
He said that as a speaker, he is a leader of all irrespective of political party as he will carry every body along in his leadership despite coming from the opposition and a minority party the young people’s party YPP.
According to him the 16 lawmakers who were affirmed by the Court of Appeal will not be recognised for now as apex court was emphatic that the judgement of the Appeal Court was faulty and an abuse of court processes as the sixteen people’s democratic party PDP lawmakers who were earlier sacked had appealed for the determination of the supreme court judgement as they are now calling for thier judgement to be upturned by the highest court of the land including that of the national assembly members.
