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Supreme Court Orders Lawmaker To Vacate Seat Over Defection

By Lemmy Ughegbe
18 April 2015   |   12:05 am
In a unanimous verdict by the seven-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the apex court held that Abegunde’s defection could not be justified, since his excuse of purported division in the LP was not in existence in the “national structure” of the party.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Muhammed

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Muhammed

THE Supreme Court yesterday ordered a member of the House of Representatives representing Akure South/North Federal Constituency of Ondo State, Ifedayo Abegunde, to vacate his seat for defecting from the Labour Party (LP), which sponsored him for the election in 2011, to the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

In a unanimous verdict by the seven-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the apex court held that Abegunde’s defection could not be justified, since his excuse of purported division in the LP was not in existence in the “national structure” of the party.

The court held that the division and factionalisation cited by Abegunde as his excuse for abandoning the LP was only at the state level.

Justice Musa Muhammad, who read the lead judgment, held that only a “division” that makes it “impossible or impracticable” for the party to function, by virtue of the provision in Section 68(1)(g) of the constitution, justifies a person’s defection to another party.

Abegunde had defected from LP to the ACN in 2011, and in a bid to pre-empt the party from recalling him, filed a suit at the Federal High Court.

He lost the case at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal and subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court.

In the opening of his judgment, Justice Muhammad s‎aid he had earlier on March 19, this year dismissed Abegunde’s appeal and the cross appeal filed with respect to the case as both were “unmeritorious.” He explained that the judgment was to give the reasons for dismissing the appeal and the cross appeal.

He cited previous Supreme Court decisions in ‎FEDECO‎ v Goni and Attorney General of the Federation v Abubakar to support his decision.

Justice Muhammad held: “The principles enunciated by this court in the two cases- FEDECO‎ v Goni supra and Attorney General of the Federation v Abubakar supra- is to the effect that only such factionalisation, fragmentation, splintering or ‘division’ that makes it impossible or impracticable for a particular party to function, as such will, by virtue of the proviso to Section 68(1)(g), justify a person’s defection to another party and the retention of his seat for the unexpired term in the House, in spite of the defection.

“Otherwise, has rightly held by the courts below, the defector automatically loses his seat.”

Justice Muhammad explained that by virtue of the combined provisions of Section 68(1)(a) and (g), as well as Section 222(a), (e) and (f) of the constitution, division in a party at the state level did not entitle a legislator to abandon the party on which platform he or she contested and won his or her seat.

The apex court rejected argument canvassed by the counsel for Abegunde, Mr. Akin Ladipo, to the effect that  “any division” in a political party would entitle a person to defect from a party that sponsored his election without having to lose his seat.

Justice Muhammad held: “I am unable to agree with learned counsel to the appellant that on facts and law as concurrently applied by the two courts below, their decisions can be interfered with.

“One is left in no doubt that the determination of the dispute, the trial court is approached to resolve, turns decisively on the meaning of word ‘division’ as used by the framers of the proviso to Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.”

He added: “Not being the kind of ‘division’ that affects the national struc‎tures and therefore the corporate existence of the party, learned counsel insists, appellant’s defection does not come within the proviso to Section 68(1)(g) to entitle him to retain his seat in the House of Representatives, in spite of his defection to the ACN from the Labour Party, on which platform he contested and won the seat. This position of the respondents is unassailable.”

8 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    This is another case of the law being an Ass. This verdict should have been given a long time ago and it would have given us some sanity in our polity.

  • Author’s gravatar

    This judgement is belated and of no use. Why delay making pronouncements on all the defections from PDP to APC and from APC to PDP until after the election has been worn and lost?

  • Author’s gravatar

    Does it apply to Mimiko and co in Ondo state now? That is, can it be referenced in other similar cases including but not limited to PDP and APC defectors? I hope we are not having a Supreme Courtship judgment here

  • Author’s gravatar

    Finally bringing sanity to this madness. Today he is Governor under PDP, yesterday he was Governor under APGA, tomorrow he has become Governor under APC, in one term, under one mandate, the same person has changed party flags without the consent of the electorate. Resign from your position and seek vote under whatever party you want, and stop committing political deception and fraud

  • Author’s gravatar

    Please apply it across board!

  • Author’s gravatar

    The Chief
    Justice of Nigeria Mahmud Mohammed has made history in the recent apex court
    decision that ordered a lawmaker who defected to another party after having
    been elected on another party’s platform to vacate his seat. It has come at the
    appropriate time in the new political dispensation in Nigeria. It is immoral for politicians to take the
    electorate for a ride. That foolery should stop since the apex court has
    clamped down on the political misbehavior. Choice is demonstrated in a democracy
    but for a politician to climb up the political ladder with the votes of the
    people and later without going back to seek their mandate before or after crossing
    the carpet amounts to a great disrespect to those who voted for him. It also
    makes nonsense of democratic principles. I am not against changing one’s party
    but what I detest seriously is a situation where one abandons the initial party
    that brought about his election victory crosses the carpet and still retains
    his seat in the legislature. We are aware of the recent droves of politicians
    defecting to APC for the simple reason that APC is going to form the next government
    at the centre. This culture of political indiscipline is taking root fast as
    political fraud in Nigeria. The Action Group in western Nigeria sowed the seed
    in the 1950s. We hope the judiciary should lead the crusade of its eradication
    in Nigeria’s political landscape.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Thought so too. It is even surprising that several precedents were cited here apart from the Amaechi case.