By Olusegun Lawrence Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday granted leave to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to bring a motion for an Order of Mandamus compelling the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal to declare his seat vacant.
In the same vein, the Judge granted leave to the PDP to serve the originating summons of the Speaker, to the office of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha through the clerk of the House of Representatives.
The orders granted were sequel to an ex parte application brought by the counsel to the PDP, Mike Ahamba, SAN, praying the court to make the order to compel Speaker Tambuwal “to give effect to the provisions of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution if the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 by declaring the Kebbe/Tambuwal Constituency seat vacant.”
The PDP counsel also prays the court to make “an order of injunction restraining Tambuwal from performing or continuing to perform the function of the Speaker in the House of Representatives, or sitting or continuing to sit in the House of Representatives as a member.
The ruling party is also seeking an alternative relief for “an order of court compelling the Deputy Speaker to declare the Kebbe/Tambuwal seat vacant by an order of mandamus.”
Ahamba noted that Tambuwal was sponsored by the PDP in the 2011 general elections but left the party to join the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) on 28 October, 2014 without a division in the party as prescribed by the Constitution.
Prompt News recalls that Tambuwal had approached the court to challenge the PDP’s purported move to remove him as Speaker as well as the withdrawal of his security aides by the Inspector General of Police following his defection to the APC.
The motion by constituents of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency of Sokoto State seeking to join suit as parties in the suit to stop moves to remove Tambuwal as Speaker of House of Representatives was also dismissed.
Bala , Sambo Bello Moddo, both chairmen of Kebbe and Tambuwal Local Government Areas of Sokoto State respectively on one hand, and Abdulsamad Ibrahim Dasuki (Tambuwal East), Suleiman Hamsi (Tambuwal West), Shuiabu Umar (Kebbe West) all of the Sokoto House of Assembly had prayed the court to admit them as parties in the suit having elected Tambuwal as representative of the constituency in the National Assembly.
But ruling on the motion, Justice Mohammed held that the applications lacked merit and thus dismissed it.
The suit is adjourned to December 12 for hearing.
