Court sacks former Speaker, Dogara, from House of Representatives
A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, has ordered former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to relinquish his seat as honorable member representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Federal Constituency in Bauchi State.
While delivering the judgment, Justice Donatus Okorowo, announced that having decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dogara was no longer eligible to hold his political seat by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Dogara, however, decamped to the ruling party, APC on July 24, 2020, after he tendered a letter of resignation to the Peoples Democratic Party Chairman of Bogoro ‘C’ Ward in the state.
Out of dissatisfaction with his action, the PDP and its Bauchi State Chairman, Hamza Akuyam, using their team of legal practitioners led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, proceeded to court to announce his seat vacant.
Justice Okorowo agreed with the position of PDP that Dogara’s defection from the party that sponsored him to the National Assembly, before the expiration of his tenure, Dogara ought to relinquish power.
The judge established that the action of the former speaker was against the law, asserted that the aim of Section 68(1)(g) was to check political defection among legislators.
“The judgment is, therefore, given in favour of the plaintiffs. I hereby grant the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs,” he declared.
Other defendants in the proceeding were the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, SAN, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling APC, as first to fourth defendants, respectively.
