The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has postponed judgement on the suit seeking to sack the Cross River Governor, Ben Ayande and his Deputy, Ivara Esu over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) till April 6.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo had earlier planned the judgment for March 25, 2022.
But, on Friday morning, its was indicated on the cause list that the judgement would now be rendered on April 6.
The suit marked: FHC/ABI/CS/975/2021 was filed by the PDP, with INEC, Ayade, Esu and APC as defendants.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had sued Ayade and 20 state legislators over their defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in May 2021.
Last Monday, March 21, the judge, Taiwo Taiwo, sacked the Cross River State House of Assembly Speaker and 17 of his colleagues alongside two members of the House of Representatives for defecting to the APC, when “there (were) no justifiable reasons” for their action.
The judgement on Ayade’s defection was slated for Friday, March 25, triggering uncertainties as to the fate of the governor, after another federal judge, Inyang Ekwo, about two weeks ago, sacked the Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi for ditching the PDP for the APC.
“We were only informed of the postponement of judgement on Governor Ayade’s defection suit on Thursday afternoon,” a lawyer to one of the parties in the suit told our correspondent on Friday.
The lawyer, who asked not to be named because he was not given the authority, to talk to the press about the matter added, “I had called the court registry to find out about the time that the judge would be delivering judgement, only to be told that it had been shifted to April 6,” the lawyer told this reporter on Friday morning.”
During Monday’s proceedings, lawyers and litigants waited for about two hours before Mr Taiwo resumed sitting for the day at about 2:00 p.m.
The judge apologised for not delivering the lawmakers’ judgement at noon on Monday as he had promised.
Justice Taiwo, while ruling on the lawmakers defection last Monday, said “the lawmakers wined and dined under the umbrella of the PDP,” but ditched the party even when there was no justification for their action.
“The defendants’ court documents were contrived and filled with loopholes. The papers are manifestly defective,” the judge said while granting all the reliefs sought by the PDP.
In a stern reprimand to elected officials who dump the political parties on whose platforms they rode to power, the judge said, “we cannot continue to sin and pray for grace to abide,” referring to a biblical verse.
The judge added: “A day must surely come when elected officials, must ask the people who voted for them before defecting to other political parties.”
The Nation / Premium Times
