FG Pledges Not To Undermine Tambuwal

Nnamdi Felix/Abuja

The Federal Government on Friday made an undertaking not to undermine Aminu Tambuwal as the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives pending the hearing and determination of the suit instituted by the Speaker.

Tambuwal and his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, had filed a suit praying the court for an interim injunction to restrain the Federal Government, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Deputy Speaker, the Inspector General of Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from removing him from office as Speaker of the House of Representatives pending the hearing and determination the suit.

At the proceedings on Friday, the Speaker’s lawyer, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, a senior advocate of Nigeria, made passionate appeal to the judge to grant the interim injunction‎ to restrain the PDP and the Federal Government  from threatening Tambuwal’s seat as Speaker and as a member of the House of Representatives but the defendants insisted that there was no need to grant an interim order, saying that since 4 November when the court granted an order to maintain the status quo, that they did not do anything to undermine the subject matter and would still not do anything.

The Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police who were represented by Mr. Ade Okeanya Inneh, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, undertook not to do anything that will undermine the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives but also asked the court to dismiss the suit.

The court reiterated its earlier order for the parties to maintain the status quo.

The trial judge, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed premised the order to maintain the status quo on verbal undertakings ‎by the defendants’ lawyers not to do anything that would scuttle the subject matter of the case.

“Parties are on agreement that the res (something transacted between other parties) should not be tampered with. The plaintiffs are satisfied with the undertakings granted the defendants not to tamper with the res,” noted the court.

On the issue of the Speaker’s security details withdrawn on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, the court declined to make any pronouncement on the issue but reiterated that the earlier order for status quo should continue pending the determination of the suit.

The Federal Government is challenging the jurisdiction of the court in hearing the matter on the grounds that no court has jurisdiction to entertain any suit bodering on the manner of deployment of members of the Nigerian Police Force under the command of the Inspector General of Police who is listed as the 5th defendant in the suit.

The court pointed out that it has the jurisdiction to look into the matter and then decide whether or not it has jurisdiction to entertain it and thereafter directed that the preliminary objections filed by the defendants will be taken together with the substantive suit and adjourned further proceedings till 17 November.