The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday in Abuja
kickstarted its move to unseat Zamfara State Governor, Bello Muhammad
Matawalle, at the Federal High Court over alleged unlawful defection.
Also slated for removal from office is the Deputy Governor
of the state, Alhaji Mahadi Aliyu Gusau, over the same issue.
The party asked the court to sack the Governor and his
Deputy over their unlawful defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The request forms part of the reliefs being sought in a suit,
marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/489/2021, filed in the names of two PDP members from Zamfara
State, Alhaji Sani Kaura Ahmed and Abubakar Muhammed.
The plaintiffs are contending that, in view of an earlier
judgment of the Supreme Court, to the effect that the APC had no candidates in
the 2019 governorship election in Zamfara State, having not conducted valid
primaries, it would be unlawful for Matawalle and Gusau to retain their offices
while defecting from the PDP to the APC, and thereby transferring PDP’s victory
to the APC.
They want the court to, among others, declare that Matawalle
and Gusau must resign from their offices before their defection to allow the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh election,
within three months, for the PDP to replace them.
On Monday, when the legal battle was kickstarted through
ex-parte motion argued by the plaintiffs lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), Justice
Inyang Eden Ekwo granted an order of substituted service of the originating
processes on the Governor and Deputy Governor.
By order, the governor and his deputy are to be served with
all court papers through the National Secretariat of APC in Abuja.
Justice Ekwo thereafter fixed July 16 for the report of
court papers on the two defendants.
The governor and his deputy had two weeks ago defected from
PDP to APC which prompted the move by PDP to claim its mandates from them
through court action.
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