11th September, 2013
Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
Seventy nine members of Nigeria’s National Assembly in Abuja comprising of 22 Senators and 57 House of Representatives members have approached a Federal High Court siting in Abuja urging the court to stop embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the party’s leadership from declaring their seats at the National Assembly vacant following their declaration of support for the breakaway faction of the party.
The lawmakers stated that the division within the party necessitated the holding of a parallel convention and that they were justified legally to defect to any of the factions which represents their aspirations.
They listed Bamanga Tukur, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Reps, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as defendants in the matter.
In the suit filed on behalf of the lawmakers by Mr. Tairu Adebayo, the lawmakers asked the court to determine whether considering the circumstances in the national and various state chapters of the PDP, there exists a faction or division within the party;
..Whether any of the Plaintiffs or other members of the PDP holding
elective seats who desires to become a member of another faction of the party or any other political party is not saved by the proviso to section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended; and
.whether in view of the proviso to section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the 1st Defendant or any other officer of the 4th Defendant or authority howsoever described can declare the seats of any of the Plaintiffs or other members of the PDP that opted to join another political party vacant in the present peculiar and precarious circumstance of the party.
They urged the court to make a declaration that the circumstances prevailing in the various state chapters of the party which led to factions/divisions as witnessed at the Special National Convention of the PDP held on 31st August 2013 and holding of a parallel convention simultaneously at another venue, followed up with the opening of a parallel National Head Office and release of the names of new parallel National Officers constitute and qualify as crisis and divisions anticipated under section 68 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.
The lawmakers further asked the court to declare that any of them or other members of the party who, pursuant to the crisis that led to factions/divisions in the party joined or desires to join another political party is/are saved by the proviso to section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended without losing his/their elective seats.
They want the court to also stop the defendants from conducting any proceeding in their respective chambers aimed at declaring their seats vacant in view of the present circumstance in the PDP.
On the part of the electoral umpire, INEC, the lawmakers wants the court to also restrain the commission from accepting nominations of any purported candidate and conducting by-election aimed at filling any of their seats at either legislative chambers.
As at the time of filing this report, the matter is yet to be assigned to a judge for hearing.
The list of the lawmakers that have filed the action:
SENATOR BELLO HAYATU GWARZO
2. SENATOR MOHAMMED ALI NDUME
3. SENATOR AHMED ZAINAH
4. SENATOR ABDULAHI ADAMU
5. SENATOR ABDULAHI DANLADI SANKARA
6. SENATOR ABDULMUMINI MOHAMMED HASSAN
7. SENATOR UMARU DAHIRU
8. SENATOR AHMED MOHAMMED MACCIDO
9. SENATOR MUHAMMAD SHAABA LAFIAJI
10. SENATOR SIMEON SULE AJIBOLA
11. SENATOR ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI
12. SENATOR MAGNUS NGEI ABE
13. SENATOR WILSON ASINOBI AKE
14. SENATOR DANJUMA MOHAMMED GOJE
15. SENATOR SAIDU AHMED ALKALI
16. SENATOR AHMED HASSAN BARATA
17. SENATOR BINDOWO UMAR MOHAMMED JIBRILLA
18. SENATOR AISHA JUMMAI ALHASSAN
19. SENATOR IBRAHIM ABDULAHI GOBIR
20. SENATOR BASIR GARBA MOHAMMAD
21. SENATOR ABDULAZIZ USMAN
22. SENATOR ISA GALANDU
23. HON. ABDULLAHI BALARABE
24. HON ABDULMUMIN JIBRIN
25. HON ALI AHMAD
26. HON ABDULLAHI MUHAMMED WAMAKO
27. HON ABDULLAHI MUHAMMED RICO
28. HON ABDILMALIK USMAN CHECHE
29. HON ADAMU BASHIR
30. HON AHMAN-PATIGI ALIYU
31. HON AHMED ZEREWA
32. HON AISHATU AHMED BINANI
33. HON AIYEDUN AKEEM OLAYINKA
34. HON ALHASSAN ADO GARBA
35. HON ALIYU MADAKI
36. HON ALIYU SHEHU
37. HON AMINU SHAGARI
38. HON AMINU SUKYMAN
39. HON AMINU TUKUR
40. HON ANDREW UCHENDU
41. HON ASITA HONOURABLE
42. HON BASHIR BABALLE
43. HON BLESSING NSIEGBE
44. HON. DAKUKU PETERSIDE
45. HON.DAWARI GEORGE
46. HON.FARUQ MUHAMMED LAWAN
47. HON.GIBSON NATHANIEL
48. HON.GOGO BRIGHT TAMUNU
49. HON.HALIYU ZAKARI JIKANTORO
50. HON.HASSAN ADAMU
51. HON.HUSSAIN NAMADI
52. HON.IBRAHIM EBBO
53. HON.IBRAHIM TIJJANI KIVAWA
54. HON.ISSA BASHIR
55. HON.KABIRU ACHIDA
56. HON.KHABEEB MUSTAPHA
57. HON.MAURICE PRONEN
58. HON.MOHAMMED SABO
59. HON.MPIGI BARINADA
60. HON.MUHAMMAD AHMED MUKHTAR
61. HON.MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM
62. HON.MUHAMMAD SANI KUTIGI
63. HON.MUKHTAR MUHAMMAD
64. HON.HON MUSA ADO
65. HON.MUSA SARKIN-ADAR
66. HON.MUSTAPHA BALA DAWAKI
67. HON.MUSTAPHA MASHOOD
68. HON.OGBONNA NWUKE
69. HON.RAFIU IBRAHIM
70. HON.SA’AD NABUNKARI
71. HON.SANI MUHAMMED ALIYU
72. HON.SHUAIBU GOBIR
73. HON.SOKONTE DAVIES
74. HON.SUFIYANU UBALE
75. HON.UMAR BATURE
76. HON.USMAN WADA
77. HON.YUSUPH DAB NURI SULE
78. HON.YUSUPH GALAMBI
79. HON.ZAKARI MUHAMMED.