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A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Ifedayo Abegunde A.K.A Abena,
representing Akure North/Akure south Constituenc has been sacked and ordered to
vacate his seat by a Federal High Court in Akure.

    Abegunde was elected into the
    parliament on the platform of the
    ruling Labour Party (LP) in April
    2011 general elections, but
    defected to the Action Congress of
    Nigeria (ACN) after a few months in
    the House.

    Labour Party subsequently began
    a recall process against him and
    approached the court to sack the
    decampee lawmaker in order for
    the party to reclaim his seat.

    The lawmaker also filed a counter
    motion seeking judicial protection
    against his recall by the Ondo
    State House of Assembly, Labour
    Party, the Speaker of the House of
    Representatives, Alhaji Aminu
    Tambuwal and Independent
    National Electoral Commission
    (INEC).
Abegunde’ s counsel, Chief Adekola Olawoye had argued that by the provisions of
Section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution and the imbroglio, division and
factionalization in LP, he is entitled to dump the party.

The defence counsel and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr.
Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) leading the Director of Civil Litigation, Barr. Rotimi Olamide
submitted that since Abegunde had dumped LP and has not proved any division
within party, he has automatically vacated his seat as a federal lawmaker.

The defendants also prayed that INEC should conduct a bye election to fill the
vacant seat.
In her judgment, Justice Gloria Okeke said that without a political party, no
candidate can contest an election since there is no provision for independent
candidacy in Nigerian elections.

Citing a Supreme Court decision in Amaechi vs INEC (2008) 5 NWLR Pt. 1080, she
added that “if it is only a party that canvasses for votes, it follows that it is a party
that wins an election. A good or bad candidate may enhance or diminish the
prospect of his party in winning, but at the end of the day it is the party that wins or
loses an election.”

Okeke held further that Abegunde could not prove the alleged division and crisis in
LP by the virtue of the letter signed by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner,
Mr. Akin Orebiyi that “we are not aware of any crisis or issue concerning dispute in
LP.

“We were also present at the Congress that produced the elected and recognized
State Chairman of the party. As far as INEC was concerned, there was no crisis or
factionalization in LP in Ondo State.” INEC declared.

According to the Judge, the issue raised by Abegunde was not a dispute that
should warrant his defection to the ACN, adding that it is a constitutional matter
that a parliamentarian who defects in this manner “shall (mandatory and not a mere
directive, not a matter of opinion) vacate his seat”.

“Since it is the 9th defendant, Labour Party that sponsored the plaintiff (Abegunde)
in the election into the House of Representatives to represent Akure North/Akure
South Federal Constituency and defected on account of unproven imbroglio, crisis,
dispute and factionalization in the party, the plaintiff has lost the seat and should
therefore vacate the seat and I so hold” Okeke ruled.
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Court sacks Ondo Rep Member for decamping to A C N
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African Examiner
Thursday,  May  31,  2012
Copyrights © 2007  All Rights Reserved African Examiner Online is owned by RD Frontline LLC, a state of Maryland registered company
P. O. Box 11582 Baltimore, Maryland, 21229, USA Tel: 443-904-1239. Editor-In-Chief: Oludare Sunday Fase
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Hon.  Ifedayo Abegunde a.k.a Abena ordered
to vacate seat at Nigeria's House of Reps.
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