Group Asks Court to Declare Akpabio’s Seat Vacant

The Incorporated Trustees of Dynamic patriotic Citizens Foundation has dragged Senator Godswill Akpabio before the Federal High Court in Abuja over his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group, in the suit filed on their behalf by their lawyer, Tolu Babalaye, is asking the court to declare Akpabio’s seat at the Senate vacant and order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye- election within 90 days into the vacant seat. The group further urged the court to declare that Senator Akpabio has lost his seat as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by virtue of his defection from the PDP to APC on August 8, 2018.

In the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/887/2018, they argued that the former Minority Leader defected from the PDP to the APC, without any division, crisis or faction in the PDP as envisaged by the provisions of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 constitution.

The group formulated a single issue for determination by the court to wit: Whether or not by virtue of the provisions of section 68(1) (g) of Nigerian Constitution (as altered), and in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case law of Hon. Ifedayo Sunday Abegunde V Ondo State House of Assembly and 12 others (2015) LPELR -24588, which sufficiently interpreted the said section 68(1) (g), Akpabio who defected from the PDP to the APC, on August 8, 2018, without any division, crisis or faction in the PDP as envisaged by the proviso to section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 constitution and interpreted in Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde’s case, has not lost his seat as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and therefore liable to be kicked out by the Nigerian Senate.