THE ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Plateau State and the All Progressives Congress (APC) may collide following the Supreme Court judgment last Friday that affirmed the election of the state governor, Caleb Muftang.
The judgment has set the 16 PDP state lawmakers sacked by the Appeal Court and the beneficiaries in the APC on a collision course.
This is just as the Speaker of the Assembly elected on the platform of the minority, Young Progressive Party (YPP), Honourable Gabriel Dewan, said the warring camps are not known to the Assembly for now, insisting that the House has only eight members at the moment.
While the Supreme Court judgment seems to have emboldened the sacked PDP members to assert the rights to legitimacy, the beneficiaries of the sack are claiming that for state and national assembly election petitions, the Court of Appeal remained the final stage in the disputed elections.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the publicity secretary of PDP in the state, Mr. John Akans, said the judgment of the apex court had rubbished the verdict of the Court of Appeal on the state and federal lawmakers sacked by the appellate court.
He said that the state and national secretariats of thee PDP had petitioned the National Judiciary Council (NJC) in this regard, adding that the committee with a former CJN, Justice Walter Onneghen, will also be petitioned.
Akans expressed optimism that the sacked PDP state lawmakers would regain their seats in the House based on the precedent set by the Supreme Court.
But in a swift reaction, the publicity secretary of the APC, Mr. Slyvanus Namang, claimed those clamouring for reversal of the Appeal Court judgment were ignorant of the law, adding that the incumbent speaker of the Assembly has no choice but to open the House for the 16 APC members to commence legislative business.
“The law is that these people have been issued a certificate of return. The Speaker has no option but to swear them in.
“The eight members, who are there, have the responsibility of swearing in the 16 members of the state assembly.
“We saw what he was trying to say—that there is an appeal to the National Judiciary Council NJC) and others.
“I think, we should not play politics with ignorance. The law remains a law; any issue about election petitions at the state House of Assembly and National Assembly is time-barred and ends at the Appeal Courts.
“No court in the land, not even the Supreme Court, can reverse anything about the petition for both the State and National Assembly elections.
“What we need is peace and stability to reign; therefore, these members that have received their certificates of return should be inaugurated; nothing can upturn their victory.
“He cannot be refused; we should follow constitutional responsibility. Nobody can do anything outside the legal framework.
“As a party, we have always said that we respect the judiciary; there should be no room for impunity; the legal process should be followed,” he said.
On his part, the Speaker of the House, Honourable Gabriel Dewan, told the Nigerian Tribune that both the sacked and beneficiaries of the Appeal Court judgment were not recognised by the Assembly under his leadership.
“I don’t want to dabble in their affairs; they just want to cause confusion. At the moment, the House only has eight members because before we went on recess, we were eight, and no one has introduced himself to me since then to be a member.
“Though I am aware that certificates of return have been issued to 16 members based on the judgment of the Court of Appeal, they have not officially presented themselves to the House, nor have I received any communication from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to that effect.”
“I am neither an APC nor a PDP member, and I don’t want to dabble into their problem. APC is claiming that they have certificates of return and PDP equally posited that, by virtue of the Supreme Court judgment affirming Governor Muftwang, the judgment is also in their favor. So they should go and sort themselves out.”
“At the moment the House is on recess and at the same time the structure is undergoing renovation, so when the House resumes sitting, the eight of us who are at the moment legitimate members would receive the group with legitimate paper or be recognized by the Court.
“I was misquoted by a section of the media; I didn’t tell them I didn’t recognise them, but they have not officially presented themselves. How do you want me to recognize someone who has not taken an oath or been officially inaugurated as a member?
“I may know them individually but not as members of the House. At the moment, we are just eight members; until they present themselves, the membership of the Assembly is simply eight,” the speaker asserted.