A Federal High Court, Abuja, will on Friday, March 25, deliver judgment in a lawsuit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, seeking to remove Ben Ayade as Governor of Cross River.
Recall that Ayade was elected on the platform of the PDP in 2015 and 2019, but defected to the APC on May 20, 2021, along with his deputy.
On Monday, Taiwo Taiwo, a judge, sacked 20 lawmakers from Cross River state who defected alongside the governor to the APC.
The PDP in its lawsuit is asking for “a declaration that in view of the provisions of section 221 of the Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the democratic system of governance operated in Nigeria, votes at the election and elections are won by political parties and not their candidate or the candidates sponsored at the election by the political parties”.
The party is also seeking an order directing the first defendant (INEC) “to immediately receive from the plaintiff (PDP), the name of its candidates to replace the 3rd and 4th defendants (Ayade and Esu) for the purpose of utilizing the lawful votes cast in favor of the plaintiff or in the alternative directing the 1st defendant to hold a gubernatorial election for Cross River State in accordance with Section 177 © of the Constitution (excluding the 3rd and 4th defendants who are disqualified from participating in the election by virtue of Section 192 (1) (b) of the Constitution) arising from the abandonment of the majority lawful votes and the offices occasioned by the action of the 3rd and 4th defendants by reason of their becoming members of the 2nd defendant who did not win a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election”.
Justice Taiwo who presided over a similar lawsuit against lawmakers in the state, will be delivering the judgment on Friday.
