QUOTE
The All Progressives Congress has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to declare the seats of Ekiti six lawmakers vacant, for defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party. According to a copy of the originating summons obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the party prayed the court to order a bye-election to fill their seats in accordance with the 1999 Constitution. The affected members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly are the factional Speaker, Mr. Dele Olugbemi; Israel Olowo, Alex Ade Ojo, Adeyinka Adeloye, Mrs. Adunni Olayinka and Ayoka Fatumbi.
UNQUOTE
These APC Assemblymen in Ekiti are going it the right way, as it should be done at the federal level against Tambuwal.....
But ever since 1999 when this new dispensation began, there have been MANY MANY defections - from one party to another, and then back again - then back again - and what has happened really?
Largely nothing....that is the mark of impunity, which catches up with everybody eventually.
It appears that Sokoto Representative and lawyer Tambuwal is the greatest defector in Nigerian history. Already well-known in the PDP as Legislative Assistant to PDP Senate Leader Abdullahi Wali from 1999-2003, he however got elected on the ANPP platform in 2003 (when he won a seat in the House of Reps), but moved to DPP (formed by Bafawara) briefly in 2007, then back to ANPP (2007, with then Governor Baffawara), then to PDP in 2007 (with then Governor Wammako of Sokoto.) Perching on PDP for a while, he became first Deputy Majority Leader, and then Speaker (on June 6, 2011) with opposition assistance) and now is in the APC (effective October 28, 2014, with Wammako).
In effect, he has been PDP - ANPP - DPP - ANPP - PDP - APC
We should blame it all on the dizzying Sokoto Politics involving Governors Baffarawa (ANPP, 1999-2007) and Wammako (PDP, 2007-2014, APC 2014-2015), and Tambuwal's taking to heart the maxim that "all politics is local":
QUOTE
[Wammako] was elected Deputy Governor of Sokoto State to Governor Attahiru Bafarawa in 1999, on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He was re-elected Deputy Governor for a second term in April 2003. He resigned as Deputy Governor of Sokoto State on 15 March 2006.[1] Aliyu Wamakko ran successfully for Governor of Sokoto State in April 2007 on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, and assumed office on 29 May 2007. Following an appeal, his election was annulled in April 2008 on the basis that he had still been a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) when he won the PDP nomination. Abdullahi Balarabe Salame was appointed Acting Governor (11 April - 28 May 2008) while a re-run was arranged.[3] It was said that the contest was not so much between Wamakko and Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi of the DPP, as between Wamakko and his predecessor Attahiru Bafarawa, founder of DPP. Wamakko regained his seat in the May, 2008 re-run. His opponent claimed that the election was rigged and said he would appeal to the courts.
UNQUOTE
Also see http://dailyindependentnig.com/2014/02/sokoto-2015-as-bafarawa-shagari-confront-wamakko/ where it is clear that the PDP is clearly a divided party there in Sokoto. [Governor Wammako is APC, his Deputy Governor Shagari is PDP].
Also PDP has been the greatest benefactor of defections - until lately
QUOTE
. ...... Dr. Wahab Dosumu (Lagos), Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe (Lagos) and Senator Gbenga Ogunniya (Ondo) defected from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to PDP in 2002. That same year, Senator Arthur Nzeribe (Imo), Senator John Nwanunu (Abia) and Senator Usman Kadir (Kogi) defected from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to PDP. Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos) defected from AD to PDP in December 2004. Also, before the recent gale of defections, many governors had moved to PDP after being elected through other parties, especially in Abia, Bauchi, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi and Zamfara States. All were welcome by PDP with fanfare and all kept their seats.
UNQUOTE
The latest gubernatorial defections from PDP to APC were by Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Abdul Fatai Ahmed of Kwara, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto and Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State. These five joined the twelve governors of Adamawa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Yobe and Zamfara states to form the Progressive Governors Forum of the APC. [Adamawa's Nyako has since been impeached (on July 15, 2014), and Ekiti Fayemi defeated in a June 21 2014 election, and relinquished power October 16.]
The points that I am making are as follows:
1. it is not difficult to show a "divided party"; it could be at a national, state, local government or even ward level. Sokoto State is an examplar in political divisionism!
2. defections without applied sanctions have been going on for a long time in Nigeria; it is not un-precedented. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
3. defections with sanctions are NOT automatic; the sanctions MUST be triggered by House Leader (Senate President or House Speaker) action, or else by a member of the affected House. That is what the Constitution says. [ For Senate, see Section 68; for House, Section 109. If you read Sections 176-196 of the Constitution, there is no sanction whatsoever for party defection by Governors.]
4. We should NOT resort to self-help; let us apply the laid-down constitutional triggers, with non-interference by the Police forces or overt interference by the Presidency. This is what the APC members should do INSIDE THE House of Assembly, rather than go to court first. However, because of the Fayose/police-induced lock-out in the Ekiti House of Assembly, they have gone to court first - but the Court may yet rule that they have NOT exhausted all the constitutional provisions, so their case cannot be heard yet; it is not ripe, and it gets thrown out.
5. In any case, we should always let the Judiciary be the final arbiter, whether we trust it or not. Notice that Wammako was once shut out for becoming a PDP governor under ANPP party membership. He re-contested under PDP, and won....but now he is in APC!
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
----- Femi Orebe wrote:
No Wale. Any member can leave a divided party and the courts will not find against him or her. Am surprised some people still can't see that Tambuwal decamped from a broken party because PDP now, or 16 years ago is an organic whole. The distinguishing factor here is where a party is fractured and as I wrote earlier, even a blind would hear that kwankwaso, Saraki,Atiku et all, formerly big shots in the Pdp have since departed the tattered umbrella. It is his 'toro' if a judge decides that rather than the Law being an ass, he is himself the ass. And we can only pity him.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone, powered by Easyblaze
From: "Adewale Adeoshun waleseg@... [Ekitipanupo]" <Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>
Sender: Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 15:33:31 +0000
To: <Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>; Anthony Ayodele<anthonyayodele@...>
ReplyTo: Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com,waleseg@...
Subject: Re: [EKITIPANUPO] Re: Ekiti: APC asks court to sack pro-Fayose defectors
Double standard through and through. I think the same court should send all those law makers in Sokoto, Kwara, Rivers State who have since moved from PDP to APC packing. So that their seats become vacant and there can be immediate By-election. By the way the same principle should apply to all those that have crossed over to PDP from APC or Labour Party. So the APC people may want to go after Mimiko if he has truly changed to PDP from Labour Party.
Wale Adeoshun
Hide message historyOn Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 12:28 PM, Anthony Ayodele anthonyayodele@... [Ekitipanupo]<Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Aba Orebe,Good morning from here. I thought we have a standing court order contrary what you just said sir. An Abuja high court said there is no faction in PDP. On the other hand, I was just reading about mayhem going on at Ibadan right now with many factions of APC killing one another. Please tell me that is not the case sir.Thanks,Anthony AyodeleSent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
-------- Original message --------
From: "zurielle2009@... [Ekitipanupo]" <Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>
Date:11/23/2014 11:45 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com
Cc:
Subject: Re: [EKITIPANUPO] Ekiti: APC asks court to sack pro-Fayose defectors
Tony. The PDP is fractured even if a compromised court said it could not see it. The entire world saw ranking officers and members walk out of its congress culminating in PDP and new PDP. Indeed, 5 governors walked away. PDP is PdP and that division cannot be denied. There is no such division in APC.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone, powered by EasyblazeFrom: "Anthony Ayodele anthonyayodele@... [Ekitipanupo]" <Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>Sender: Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.comDate: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:09:13 +0000 (UTC)To: EkitiPanupo Forum Gp<ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>; Isokan Ekiti<isokanekiti@yahoogroups.com>ReplyTo: Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com,Anthony Ayodele <anthonyayodele@...>Subject: [EKITIPANUPO] Ekiti: APC asks court to sack pro-Fayose defectorsThe All Progressives Congress has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to declare the seats of Ekiti six lawmakers vacant, for defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party.According to a copy of the originating summons obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the party prayed the court to order a bye-election to fill their seats in accordance with the 1999 Constitution.The affected members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly are the factional Speaker, Mr. Dele Olugbemi; Israel Olowo, Alex Ade Ojo, Adeyinka Adeloye, Mrs. Adunni Olayinka and Ayoka Fatumbi.They are joined with the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commissioner as defendants in the action brought through Originating Summons by the Plaintiff's counsel, Dr. Olatunji Abayomi.The lawmakers who won their seats on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria which later merged with other political parties to form the APC, defected on October 16 at the inauguration of Governor Ayodele Fayose in Ado-Ekiti.The plaintiff asked the court to determine, *Whether upon proper construction of the provisions of Section 109(1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the defendants being persons whose elections to the House of Assembly was sponsored by the ACN, now the APC, can continue to retain their seats in the said House having become members of another political party, the Peoples Democratic Party since October 16, 2014 before the expiration of the period for which the House was elected.*Whether the first to sixth defendants can validly pass or participate in making any legislative decision in the House of Assembly upon their defection from October 16, 2014 from the plaintiff, the APC to the seventh defendant (PDP) having regard to S. 109(1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.*Whether it is proper and necessary and in compliance with democratic rights and interest of their constituency for the eight defendant to conduct an election to fill the seats presently occupied by the first to sixth defendants, upon their defection from the plaintiff to the seventh defendant (the PDP)."*************************My people, here we go again!. Is this constitution of federal republic of nigeria applicable to Tambuwal our dear speaker? What goes around comes around.Thanks,Anthony Ayodele
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