The speaker of the plateau state house of assembly, Mr Gabriel Dewan, has withdrawn recognition of the 16 Court of Appeal-ordered All Progressives Congress (APC) members.
The action followed last Friday’s judgement of the Supreme Court which affirmed the election of the state governor, Mr Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and voided the decision of the Court of Appeal that nullified the election of the PDP lawmakers and gave their seats to the APC candidates in the March 18, 2023 election in state.
Consequently, the speaker declared the 16 APC members as persona non grata.
“As it stands now, only eight members are recognised in the assembly,” he told journalists in an interview in Jos.
He stated that the Supreme Court’s pronouncement, being the final authority, nullifies the position of the lower court.
He asserted that only eight members of the house would be recognised while stressing his commitment, even as a minority party member, to inclusive leadership regardless of party affiliations.
Recall that a panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, had in a unanimous decision in November 2023 ruled that Muftwang was not validly sponsored by the PDP because the party had no structure in the state.
The appellate court therefore nullified his election and declared the candidate of the APC, Mr Nentawe Yilwadta as the governor of the state.
The court also nullified the victories of 16 PDP members who were elected into the state and national assemblies on the grounds of alleged invalid nomination.
However, the Supreme Court on Friday overturned the judgment of the Appeal Court on the governorship election but and affirmed the victory of Muftwang, the sacked state and federal lawmakers cannot take their appeals to the Supreme Court based on the electoral laws which terminate their appeals at the Court of Appeal.
Justice Emmanuel Agim who read the Supreme Court’s lead judgment, noted that the APC’s contention that Muftwang was not qualified to contest the election because of non-compliance with the electoral law was faulty.
“We have held in a plethora of cases that the sponsorship of a candidate for election is an internal affair of a political party. The Court of Appeal lacks the jurisdiction to determine the validity of the candidacy of the PDP. Yilwatda of the APC has no right to challenge the emergence of Governor Mutfwang as a ticket-holder of the PDP,” the judge said.
Apparently referring to the sacked lawmakers, Justice Inyang Okoro who headed the apex court’s five-member panel, in his consenting decision, said: “My only worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of the Court of Appeal’s decision. It was absolutely wrong. The appeal is allowed.”
Also consenting, Justice Helen Ogunwunmiju, said, “It was very wrong for the Court of Appeal to go into the issue of party congresses. To make matters worse, the party challenging the issue is another political party.”
She added that the Court of Appeal made a fundamental error by shifting the burden of proof on Mutfwang.
Other members of the panel – Uwani Abba-Aji and Adamu Jauro – also agreed with the judgement.
