Defection: Constituents application stalls Tambuwal’s suit THE people of Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency of Sokoto State, on Monday, stalled the proceedings in the suit filed by their representative and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Tambuwal had approached the court with a suit to stop the House of Representatives from declaring his seat vacant on the account of his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The proceedings was stalled on Wednesday, after the constituents, through their counsel, told the court that they had filed two separate applications for stay of proceedings in the suit. Their applications for stay of proceedings were hinged on the grounds that they had filed notices of appeal against the ruling of the court, which on Monday, disallowed them to be joined as defendants in the suit. One of the two applications seeking to be joined as parties in the suit was jointly filed on behalf of the people of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency by chairman of Kebbe Local Government Area, Bala Konkani and chairman of Tambuwal Local Government Area, Sambo Modo. The other application was filed in the name of the constituents by three members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Abdussamad Dasuki, Suleiman Hantsi and Shuaibu Umar, representing Tambuwal East, Tambuwal West and Kebbe constituency, respectively. The constituents are opposed to Tambuwal’s removal as speaker and declaration of his seat vacant, arguing that removing him would deprive them of representation in the House of Representatives. Tambuwal, however, had, through his lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi, opposed the constituents’ request to join the suit. The court had, in dismissing the applications upheld Fagbemi’s contention and also held that their stance in the suit ran contrary to that of the existing co-defendants on record. When the matter came up on Wednesday, the counsel for the local government chairmen, Mr Israel Olorundare and that of the Sokoto State legislator, Moyosore Onigbanjo, informed the court that they had filed separate applications seeking leave to appeal against the court ruling based on mixed law and facts. They added that they had filed notices of appeal against the court’s ruling, in addition to applications for stay of proceedings. The development stalled the proceedings on Wednesday, which was scheduled for the hearing of Tambuwal’s application seeking an order of court to jail the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, for allegedly violating an order of the court. Tambuwal’s lawyer, Mr Jibrin Okutepa, asked the court to adjourn the matter to enable him respond to the applications for stay of proceedings filed by the parties seeking to be joined. Justice Ahmed adjourned the matter till December 9 for hearing of applications seeking leave to appeal, stay of proceedings and the one seeking an order compelling the IGP to appear in court. But the counsel for the PDP and its national chairman, Yunus Ustaz, alongside lawyer of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the IGP, Mr Ade Okeaya-Inneh, opposed to request for adjournment. They insisted that it was more appropriate to hear the contempt application which was scheduled as the court’s business for the day. Ruling on the request for adjournment, Justice Mohammed said it would amount to denying parties seeking to be joined their rights to fair hearing and to appeal against the decision of the court if the court proceedings were allowed to go on without first hearing them. The judge added that it would be tantamount to denying Okutepa fair hearing too if the court adopted the suggestion by Ustaz and Okeaya-Inneh that responses to the applications for stay of proceedings should be done orally at the Wednesday’s proceedings.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 07:27:56 +0000
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