Court rejects APC’s request to remove Governor Tambuwal over alleged defection

In a ruling in a lawsuit brought by the APC, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo stated that the Court of Appeal had previously rejected similar requests on related topics.

Aminu Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State, has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) to have him removed due to his illegal defection to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), but the court in Abuja turned down the motion.

In a ruling in a lawsuit brought by the APC, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo stated that the Court of Appeal had previously rejected similar requests on related topics.

Since the Supreme Court had not overturned the Court of Appeal’s rulings maintaining that governors cannot lose their seats due to defection, according to Justice Ekwo, they still stood as the law and were binding on subordinate courts.

The judge said that attorneys should have given their clients advice regarding cases that are currently before the Supreme Court. The judge also stated that it would be pointless for a Federal High Court to decide on a case that is currently before the Apex Court.

As a result of Tambuwal’s defection to another party, the APC has requested in the lawsuit that the court use sections 177, 179, and 189 of the 1999 Constitution to declare the governorship of Sokoto State vacant.

The party asserted that Tambuwal must be forced to renounce its support if he decides to join another party because it won the 2019 Sokoto governorship election.

But according to Justice Ekwo, the APC case is without merit in light of the Court of Appeal’s stance on related issues.

The lawsuit was subsequently dismissed by Justice Ekwo.