A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has asked the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, not to go ahead with
Saturday’s governorship bye election in Adamawa state.
The court also ordered that the Deputy Governor of ousted
Murtala Nyako be sworn in immediately to complete the deposed governor’s
tenure.
The court judgement follows a suit instituted by Mr,
Ngilari praying the court to declare him governor on the grounds that
his resignation letter which he forwarded to the speaker of the state
Assembly on the eve of the impeachment of Governor Nyako was null and
void.
Mr. Ngilari’s request is based on constitutional
requirement that a deputy governor can only resign by submitting his
letter of resignation to the governor.
Mr. Ngilari had asked the court to halt any governorship
election in the state declare him governor of Adamawa state following
the impeachment of Murtala Nyako on July 15, 2014.
The court had earlier refused an application by Mr.
Ngilari to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
from conducting bye-election to fill the Adamawa governorship seat.
Mr. Ngilari, whose office was declared vacant on July 15 by the state’s lawmakers after he purportedly resigned, challenged the legality of his resignation.
The suit had Umaru Fintiri, the Speaker, Adamawa State
House of Assembly, the House of Assembly, the Acting Governor, Adamawa
State, Mr. Nyako and INEC as defendants.
Mr. Ngilari, who denied resigning his position within the
contemplation of the provision of Section 306(1), (2) & (5) of the
Constitution, said the purported resignation letter he sent to the
Speaker was not meant to be acted on by the House of Assembly.
Mr. Ngilari, in a supporting affidavit, said, “I did not
submit any letter of resignation to the 5th defendant (governor) or any
other person other than the 1st defendant (the Speaker).
“I only submitted a purported letter of resignation
(exhibit A), to the 1st defendant but I never intended to comply with
the strict provisions of sections 306 (1), (2) & (5) of the 1999
Constitution by submitting it to the 5th defendant (the Governor).
“I never intended exhibit A (the letter) to be any subject
of debate or resolution by the 2nd defendant (House of Assembly), but a
private correspondence between myself and the 1st defendant, hence it
was marked ‘secret’.
“That exhibit A was only submitted to the 1st defendant
with the intention of discussing the contents with him privately at a
more convenient time to alert him at a possible action I may take at a
later date because of certain political developments in Adamawa State,
hence I did not submit it to the 5th defendant (as Governor of Adamawa
State) as strictly stipulated by section 306(1), (2) & (5) of the
1999 Constitution.
“That I was therefore shocked to see that my letter was
read and acted upon by the entire members of the 2nd Defendant when it
was never addressed to them,” Nggilari stated.
Mr. Ngilari then raised seven questions for the court’s
determination, and asked the court to restrain INEC and its agents from
conducting a bye-election to fill the office of the Governor following
the impeachment of the governor and the purported resignation of his
deputy.
He further sought an order “removing the 3rd defendant
(Umaru) as the Acting Governor of Adamawa State forthwith”, and “an
order directing the Chief Judge of Adamawa State (or Acting Chief Judge,
as the case may be) or the President of the Customary Court of Appeal
to swear” him (the plaintiff) in as the state’s substantive governor.
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