Speaker of the House of Representatives and governor-elect of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit challenging his emergence as the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress in the just concluded governorship election in the state.
Tambuwal, through his lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), argued on Monday that given his victory at the Saturday’s poll, there was no longer any “live issue” in the case to be determined by the court.
The APC’s counsel, Mr. Solomon Ameh (SAN), also canvassed similar argument before Justice Evoh Chukwu, during the Monday’s proceedings when the main matter was scheduled for hearing.
“I associate myself with the concern expressed by the counsel to the first defendant,” he said.
The plaintiff, Senator Umaru Dahiru, through his counsel, Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN), however insisted that there was still reasonable cause of action in the case.
Dahiru had filed the suit after the December 14, 2014 APC governorship primaries in Sokoto State, urging the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising Tambuwal as the APC’s governorship candidate.
He had contended that the primary breached not only the provisions of 2010 Electoral Act but also the APC’s electoral guidelines.
Okutepa on Monday urged the presiding judge, Justice Evoh Chukwu, to order counsel in the case to address the court on whether or not there was still any legal reason for the court to continue hearing the case after the actual governorship election had been conducted and results declared.
He said, “The governorship election has been won and lost. Has this action not become academic? Is there any live issue to determined as utilitarian value to the plaintiff in view of the relief sought by him. I believe this issue should be resolved by your Lordship before any other step can be taken.
“Your Lordship should order counsel to address the court on this issue. The court should allow us to address your Lordship. There is no more live issue in this case.”
But Kalu described the application by Tambuwal and APC as an attempt to deliberately “kill” his case.
Kalu said, “When counsel deliberately kills a case, it must have a consequence. It is like murder. This case will expose the choreography of the murder of the case. I do not agree that the case is dead.
“It is their responsibility to enunciate how the case is dead.”
The court ordered Tambuwal and APC to, within five days, file an address on the issue and serve same on the plaintiff. He also ordered the plaintiff to respond within five days of receiving the defendants’ processes.
Gov Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto state on Friday advised the All Progressive Congress (APC) supporters to vote in accordance with their conscience and defend their votes during the forthcoming general elections.
Wamakko told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto that it was only by doing so that credible leaders would be elected into office.
“Do not sell your permanent voters card as it is your personal property to be used in electing credible people”, he said.
Wamakko, who is also contesting for Sokoto Central Senatorial seat, promised to represent the people well at the National Assembly.
He said that lack of political maturity and poor working relationship between the two arms of government was largely responsible for the poor implementation of the budget.
He said that if the two arms would adhere to their constitutional responsibilities, meaningful development would have being recorded.
He urged the people to shun all forms of violence and come out en-mass to vote for APC candidates at the polls to ensure good governance at all levels (NAN)
No fewer than 500 members of the opposition All Progressives Congress )APC) in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State on Monday defected to PDP.
The new party members were received by Sokoto State Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma during the party’s gubernatorial rally in the area.
Milgoma called on the people to vote for PDP at all levels and said that supporters of the party nationwide were always loyal.
The chairman urged them to shun violence and ’’ maintain and endure the criticisms of opposition supporters for peace to reign during and after the conduct of the 2015 general elections.’’
The PDP gubernatorial Candidate of PDP, Sen. Abdallah Wali, promised to boost the state’s health, education, agriculture and youth empowerment sectors if voted into office.
Wali said ‘ the only way to succeed is by addressing the cause of poverty which is unemployment and corruption in the state.
“Our administration has planned possible and durable ways of tackling the challenges of poverty, unemployment and economic development, if voted into office.
“Our hope in the state and the nation is to provide plausible solutions for the societal under-development and the fight corruption ,’’ Wali, promised.
He thanked the people of Gwadabawa Local Government Area for their loyalty and support to PDP and welcomed the defectors into the PDP family.
Wali described the defection of the former APC members to PDP as a great achievement and promised to ensure justice and equality among all members of the party, if elected.
He further called on the party members to accept the defectors in good faith to ensure that PDP became stronger and united toward the elections.
The Sokoto State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has picked the state Commissioner for Health, Ahmed Aliyu, as the running mate of its gubernatorial candidate, Aminu Tambuwal.
This was contained in a statement issued to journalists by the acting Chairman of the party, Usman Danmadami-Isa on Wednesday in Sokoto.
The statement said that the decision was reached after consultation with Mr. Tambuwal and other
leaders of the party in the state.
The party urged all its members to work assiduously to ensure total success in the 2015 general elections.
It prayed for peace and harmony to reign in the state and country before, during and after the elections.
It was a terrible tragedy for the people of Dan-Wawaru village of Goronyo local government area of Sokoto State, as they buried 15 persons who plunged into the River Rima and died on Thursday night, locals confirmed.
Boat capsides, imigrants drown in Libya
Also, no fewer than three persons were reportedly killed, while scores were injured in a fresh round of violence that erupted yesterday in Wukari local government area of Taraba State.
The 15 people that drowned in Sokoto were reported to have been among the 17 persons in a vehicle that plunged into the river, and reports have it that they were on their way back from Takakume village where they went for a religious ceremony.
Confirming the incident to LEADERSHIP Sunday, the Sokoto State police command’s spokesperson, Al-Mustapha Sani, said the vehicle was reported to have been conveying 17 persons before the driver allegedly slept off, leading to the accident.
Sani, however, informed that two of the occupants involved in the accident survived, while the remaining 15 have been buried according to Islamic rites.
“The deceased were evacuated by the police attached to the Goronyo police division and had since been buried by their respective families according to Islamic rites,” he informed.
On his part, Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko condoled with the bereaved families, just as he prayed that God would grant their souls eternal rest.
While urging them to see it as an act of God, Wamakko admonished them to pray against the repeat of such act, either in the state or anywhere else.
Meanwhile, a resident of Wukari, who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday, alleged that the crisis started when a Muslim man who left his area to a Christian zone three days ago was killed. He added that several properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed
“The root of this crisis was that few days ago, one Muslim guy visited a Christian area and he was killed, and when the Muslims heard of it the next day, they saw a Christian person who came to their area and they killed him in return,” he alleged.
Findings by our correspondent reviewed that it was still a spill over of the crisis that erupted in Wukari few months ago.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Taraba State police command, ASP Joseph Kwaji, confirmed the incident to LEADERSHIP Sunday on phone, stating that at about 10:30 yesterday, unknown gunmen killed a Muslim person, and the next day, there were sporadic gunshots at Mararaba town.
It would be recalled that crisis had erupted in some parts of Taraba for over six months, leading to the deaths of many people and destruction of property.
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party is pushing for the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mallam Aminu Tambuwal, who defected to the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday.
Aminu Tambuwal
Tambuwal had during plenary told his colleagues that he heeded the calls of members of his constituency to dump the PDP.
He also claimed that certain developments in the Sokoto State chapter of the PDP suggested that he could no longer continue to be a PDP member.
The Speaker said, “Based on the provision of the 1999 Constitution, and having regard to the development of the PDP in my own state, Sokoto, I hereby announce my membership of the APC.
“Let me register my profound appreciation to all of you my colleagues for the unflinching support you have continued to extend to me for the overall national interest and development of our democracy.
“May Almighty God continue to guide us all.”
The defection ended months of speculation over his political future. It also threw up questions on whether he would resign as speaker, be impeached or remain in office.
Under Section 50(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), a presiding officer of the National Assembly can only be impeached if two-thirds of the members approve it.
The section reads, “The President or Deputy President of the Senate or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall vacate his office –
(c) if he is removed from office by a resolution of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of that House.’’
In the case of the House where there are 360 lawmakers, this means 240 members will have to sign to remove Tambuwal.
At the moment, the PDP has less than 200 members.
House Deputy Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, admitted that it would be a Herculean task for the PDP to spearhead Tambuwal’s impeachment.
“Do we have two-thirds majority? We don’t have two-thirds to remove the speaker,” Ogor said in a brief chat with The PUNCH.
A professor of Law, Itse Sagay, said that the PDP had no constitutional basis to impeach Tambuwal.
Sagay, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, added that the constitution allowed any politician to defect from his party once, there is division amongst its members.
Sagay said, “The constitution allows you to defect from the party under which you were elected to another one if there is division amongst members of that party, and clearly there was division in the PDP. You will recall that during the PDP congress, a second group was formed and they went into another hall and declared their own leadership in another hall; clearly this is a continuation of that division. So I don’t see the basis on which anyone can impeach him.”
Another lawyer, Mr. Fred Agbaje, toed the same line with Sagay. Agbaje, who noted that there had been evidence of division in the PDP said, Tambuwal’s defection was justified by the constitution.
“What the constitution says is that you can only defect if the party where you are coming from is no longer together, if things are no longer at ease, particularly where that party has been factionalised and you don’t know which way to go,” he added.
In spite of the position of the constitution on the removal of presiding officers of the National Assembly, Metuh, told journalists in Abuja that members of the PDP National Working Committee had already discussed Tambuwal’s defection with PDP leaders in the House.
He said, “After a thorough consideration of the matter, the NWC came to a conclusion that the Hon. Speaker, as a responsible elected officer, knows full well what is needful and honourable of him since his new party is in the minority.
“We are not unmindful of the fact that Hon. Tambuwal became Speaker on the platform of the PDP as the political party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives and that this incontrovertible fact has not changed.”
It was gathered that the party might push for his impeachment if he refused to resign.
The House Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, had said that the PDP would decide what next to do regarding the defection of the speaker.
“This is a party affair. Members take decisions on the floor based on party. So, the party (PDP) will take decision at the appropriate time.’’
It’s a historic decision –APC caucus
Jubilant members of the APC caucus in the House, who described Tambuwal’s defection as historic, dared the PDP, saying there was no constitutional provision requiring that the majority party must produce the speaker.
The Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said at a news conference that Tambuwal’s defection did not alter the fact that he remained a member of the House and the speaker.
He said, “The constitution is very clear on this; it says the members shall elect from among themselves, a speaker.”
The Minority Leader stated that Tambuwal would continue to preside over the House because he was a “bridge builder and a speaker for all members.”
Gbajabiamila said, “Tambuwal has been a Speaker for all the members, all the political parties and for all Nigerians and will so continue.
“As a caucus, we pledge our continued support to the current leadership of the House of Representatives.
“We will not do anything to destabilise the institution of the House of Representatives, so that it will continue to deliver on the mandates given to its members by Nigerians.
“More than ever before there is a need for vigilance and focus on the concerns of the Nigerian people who elected all of us.”
The APC also dared the PDP to try to impeach Tambuwual
Its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed , said “Let them try it (impeachment ) if they think they have the number. But, let them first tell us which law Tambuwal has broken by his action.
“This is not the first time this kind of scenario is unfolding. If you remember, there was an arrangement between the then National Party of Nigeria and the Nigerian Peoples Party which produced the late Edwin Ume -Ezeoke, who was from the NPP and the late Wash Pam then the deputy Senate President and when eventually the accord collapsed, Umezeoke continued as speaker and Pam continued as deputy Senate President.”
Tambuwal had for long associated with the APC behind the scenes but pledging in the open to remain a PDP member. He consistently stayed away from critical PDP meetings and other state functions.
However, last week, he openly attended an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Sokoto, where the state Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, presided.
The speaker emerged from the meeting to say that he attended a meeting of his “political family” to decide on the future of the state.
The Sokoto meeting proved that it was a matter of time before the speaker defected to the APC.
At a point, Tambuwal was rumoured to be a possible APC presidential candidate.
But, lately, there were indications that he is more likely to be picked as the party’s governorship candidate in Sokoto State.
The party has already zoned the governorship ticket to Sokoto-South Senatorial District, Tambuwal’s area.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, again, on Monday, postponed his rumoured bid to defect to the All Progressives Congress.
Aminu Tambuwal
But he attended a meeting convened by the Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, an APC member, to discuss the political future of the state.
Tambuwal said he was still consulting and would brief Nigerians very soon on his final decision.
Nigerians are already used to this line, which has always been Tambuwal’s response to inquiries over his political future.
His office said in Abuja on Monday night that a reconciliatory mission of the Board of Trustees of the PeoplesDemocratic Party to Sokoto State on Monday did not invite the Speaker to attend a meeting of the PDP stakeholders in the state.
The BoT members were said to have been led by the Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih.
A statement by Tambuwal’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Imam Imam, claimed that the Speaker was not invited to the meeting.
However, the statement added that a separate meeting convened by Wamakko, invited Tambuwal to discuss the political future of the state.
The statement said Tambuwal obliged the invitation by attending the Wamakko meeting.
However, it said the Speaker was still consulting on his next political move.
The statement partly read, “That today, Monday, 20/10/2014, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, led other members of the party to a reconciliation meeting in Sokoto but the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a member of the NEC of the PDP, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (CFR), was not invited to the meeting.
“That the Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal was later invited by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, to attend the meeting of their political family to discuss the political future of Sokoto State.
“That the Speaker, Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, duly obliged and attended the meeting.
“That the meeting had in attendance prominent Sokoto citizens many of who have no known political affiliation. The most notable being the Sardauna of Sokoto and a former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji.
“That consultations on the Speaker’s political future continue and the outcome will be made public at the appropriate time.”
The PUNCH learnt that Tambuwal was originally billed to announce his defection to the APC after the meeting, but later heeded “a wiser counsel” to consult more before making the final move.
Tambuwal has for long been linked with a move to join the APC.
At a point earlier in the year, it was rumoured that the opposition party was courting him as a possible presidential candidate.
However, a “ Plan B” is said to be programmed to make him Wamakko’s successor.
Tambuwal merely kept sealed lips over the issue and whenever he spoke at all, he told Nigerians he was consulting.
At the House, where he presides as Speaker, there is anxiety over his political future.
PDP insiders say the party may retrieve the speakership from him if he eventually defects to the APC.
The PDP now firmly controls the majority in the House.
But observers wonder whether the PDP could rally the support of 240 members (two-thirds) out of 360 to remove Tambuwal, should he defect to the APC.
As the rave of the Ebola outbreak continues to go viral, the Sokoto State commissioner of health, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu yesterday assured of the state’s preventive measures already put in place alongside public sensitisation though the state was not having any case of the disease.
He said despite the fact that the state ministry of health has not received any report about the disease in the state, it deemed it necessary to set up sensitisation campaign as part of proactive measures across the length and breadth of the state to avoid being caught unawares.
Speaking at a public lecture on Ebola organised by the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto and held at Sultan Maccido Institute of Qu’ranic and General Studies, the commissioner called on traditional and religious leaders to help in disseminating the message to their rural subjects.
Aliyu said, “It was in view of this that the state government set up detection centres in the three senatorial districts of the state which include Gwadabawa, Shagari and Tangaza local government areas for referrals and investigation purposes.
The Governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Wamakko has revealed that more governors have decided to join All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Wamakko
Without mentioning names, he made this revelation on Saturday in Wamakko Local Government Area while conducting the ward congresses.
He said that the ward congresses were held to ratify the consensus decision taken by the party’s candidates in the 23 local government areas of the state.
He said that the successful conduct of the exercise was a good beginning for the APC.
“The party will win all the elective positions at all levels during the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria,” he said.
Wamakko said that the members of the party in the local government took a unanimous decision that the adoption of the consensus arrangement was in the best interest of the party.
The chairmen of Tangaza and Silame local government areas, Alhaji Mohammed Sahabi and Alhaji Mani Katami respectively, said that the consensus arrangement would help to solidify the APC.
The duo, who spoke to newsmen in Gidan-Madi and Silame respectively, expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
The Chairman, Ward Congress Committee, Alhaji Muhammad Dan-Ango, said the exercise was concluded peacefully in the 244 electoral wards in the state. (NAN)
