Court affirms Victor Udofia’s Loss of seat

The Federal High Court sitting at Uyo, today, Tuesday 21 May, 2019, uphled the constitutional powers of the Speaker to give effect to section 109 (2) (g) of the constitution which provides that a person sponsored by a political party to the House of Assembly shall vacate his seat if before the expiration of the term of such house, he defects to another political party.

In the Claimant's (Victor Udofia) argument, it was advocated that he defected to the APC because of a division in the Peoples Democratic party. The court in interpreting the law held that for a Division to justify a defection as in this case, such Division must affect the national structure of the party. The court also ridiculed the Claimant for attempting to rely on an uncertified newspaper report where the PDP purportedly aligned with other political parties for the purpose of the 2019 general elections without more.

The court held that there was no Division at all as advocated by the claimant the PDP being intact at all times material to the suit and that the alignment by the PDP with other political parties for the purpose of actualising their interest in the 2019 elections was not a merger that would necessitate or justify a defection by the Claimant as the PDP and the other political parties in the merger retained their identity in the alignment.

The court in its final judgement therefore held that;

The Speaker was right in delcaring Hon. Victor Udofia's seat vacant in tandem with the provisions of the constitution, particularly Sections 109 of the constitution. Thus, Victor Udofia in the end, heads home.

It would be recalled that a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo on the 13th of May affirmed the sack of Gabriel Toby, the former member representing Etim Ekpo /Ika State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

Delivering judgement, Justice Fatun Riman said for Gabriel Toby to defect from Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress before the expiration of his four year tenure, Toby has lost his seat.

Details later

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