A Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja yesterday refused to halt the impeachment proceeding being spearheaded by
the 19 All Progressives Congress, APC, members of the Ekiti State House of
Assembly against Governor Ayodele Fayose, and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola.
The impeachment proceeding notice is
said to have been served on the governor and his deputy by the 19 All
Progressives Congress, APC, members who have been at loggerheads with the
governor since he came on board last October.
Although Fayose has been working
with only seven members of the PDP in the House, the APC lawmakers, which the
governor does not recognise, returned to the state this week with an
impeachment notice, prompting the closure of the House of Assembly by security
agents.
But the governor’s bid to stop the
impeachment through an interim injunction did not go through as the court
rejected their prayers contained in an ex parte application seeking interim
injunction to set aside the impeachment notice served on them and halt further
moves to remove them from office.
The court, however, granted prayers
contained in the ex parte application relating to service of the court
processes on the defendants.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed ordered the
defendants in the suit, including the APC factional Speaker of the House of
Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, and the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodeji
Daramola, to appear in court on April 16.
The court ordered the defendants to
appear in court to show cause why the order of interim injunction being sought
by the plaintiffs halting the impeachment proceedings should not be granted.
Other defendants in the suit are,
the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, and the Independent National
Electoral Commission.
The plaintiffs in the suit are the
Speaker of the House of Assembly (described as being occupied by the Peoples
Democratic Party factional Speaker, Dele Olugbemi); Ekiti State House of
Assembly, Fayose and Olusola.
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr.
Ahmed Raji, had sought the interim injunction halting the impeachment moves
through an ex parte application dated and filed on April 7, 2015.
He had urged the court to grant the
interim injunction setting aside the impeachment notice already served on the
governor and the deputy and also restraining the defendants from taking any
further steps in the impeachment moves.
The lawyer argued that the act by
Omirin to issue an impeachment notice and serve same on the governor and the
deputy governor as Speaker of the House of Assembly amounted to impersonating
the incumbent Speaker.
Credit: Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment