Posted by By Innocent Anaba on
SENATOR Musiliu Obanikoro who decamped from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to transfer to the Abuja division of the court the suit brought against him by AD, in which the party is urging the court to declare that he has forfeited his seat by decamping to another party.
SENATOR Musiliu Obanikoro who decamped from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to transfer to the Abuja division of the court the suit brought against him by AD, in which the party is urging the court to declare that he has forfeited his seat by decamping to another party. He said that the cause of action in the suit originated from Abuja.
He is also contending that the place of residence of parties in the matter is Abuja.
AD is in the suit urging the court to determine whether having regard to the clear and unambiguous provisions of section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 constitution, read together with other necessary provisions of the said constitution, Obanikoro (of Senate) and three other former House of Representatives members who also decamped to the PDP, who contested and won election on the platform of the AD and sworn-in as members of the National Assembly have not automatically vacated their seat in the National Assembly, when they defected to the PDP and communicated their defection in writing to the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.
* And whether in view of the undertaking signed by the decampees while seeking nomination on the platform of AD, to the effect that they would not change or alter in any way their allegiance to the AD and to fully serve their terms in the Senate and House of Representative respectively, failing which they shall forfeit their elected seat, whether or not they have not forfeited their seat in the National Assembly.
Counsel to Abanikoro, Mr Babatunde Fasheun (SAN) told the court while making the application for transfer, that the contact addresses for the second and third defendants in the suit on the face of the motion paper are all in Abuja. He argued that since Obanikoro was elected to the National Assembly, he has moved to Abuja.