22nd September, 2023
The woes of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP continued on Thursday in Plateau State with the sack of another three lawmakers elected on the platform of the party by the state National and State Assembly Tribunal sitting in Jos.
The tribunal had in earlier judgments sacked four lawmakers, including a senator, elected on the platform of the party to the National Assembly.
The Tribunal had sacked the lawmakers based on the arguments of their opponents that the PDP executive that organised primaries that produced them was not properly constituted.
The Tribunal adopted the same reason to sack Remvyat Nanbol, Agbalak Adukuchill, and Happiness Akawu, representing Langtang Central, Rukuba/Iregwe, and Pengana constituencies in the State House of Assembly respectively on Thursday.
In its judgment, the panel led by Justice Muhammad Tukur said the PDP refused to obey court orders to conduct ward congresses that would enable it to have a valid structure for the conduct of primaries for its candidates.
The tribunal said the PDP lacked structure and therefore could not sponsor candidates for an election.
It also ruled that the petitioners had the locus standi to challenge the participation or inclusion of the PDP in the election.
The chairman of the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw Certificates of Return from the sacked lawmakers and issue new ones to the winners of the election.
The tribunal declared Daniel Ninbol Listic of the Labour Party (LP), Bako Ankala and Yakubu Sanda of the APC who were all runners up in the election as winners.