Court to rules on resignation of Nyako’s deputy who alleges to have been tricked to resign by The House

Anxiety last night gripped political
stakeholders in Adamawa State ahead
of today's judgment in the suit
instituted by the former deputy
governor of the state, Mr. Bala Ngilari challenging his removal from office.

The judgment in the suit is to be
delivered by Justice Ademola Adeniyi
today a development that was last
night causing quivers in the state
given the demand by Ngilari that he
should be installed as governor, given his claim that he was improperly
passed over for the position.

In his claim articulated before Justice
Adeniyi by his lawyer, Mr. Festus
Keyamo, Ngilari had submitted that by
virtue of section 191 (1) of the 1999
Constitution that after the
impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako, that he, Ngilari being the next
in the line of succession should have
been inaugurated as governor.

The former deputy governor further
deposed that the assertion that he
resigned his position as deputy
governor was untenable given the
claim by the House of Assembly that
he, Ngilari resigned in a letter addressed to the speaker of the House
of Assembly.

Ngilari had relied on section 306 (1),
(2) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution of
Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended), that his resignation from
office as deputy governor could only
be addressed to the substantive governor at that time who he claimed
was Nyako.

Nyako, in his submission to the court
had also claimed that he did not accept
the purported resignation of Ngilari as
deputy governor.

The development was yesterday
causing apprehension in some
quarters in the state.

The national vice-chairman Northwest
of the All Progressives Congress, APC,
Pastor David Lawal told Vanguard that the party was not unaware of the
capacity of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP to cause maximum political
mischief as he asserted the readiness
of the APC to checkmate the ruling
party in the state.

The Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, which has
scheduled a by-election to fill the
vacancy of substantive governor for
this Saturday is a party to the suit.
Should the court rule in favour of Ngilari, the election would
automatically be called off and should
he lose, the election would go ahead.

The acting governor and substantive
speaker of the House of Assembly,
Alhaji Umar Fintiri, who is the
candidate of the PDP in the scheduled
election is also cited as a defendant in
the suit.

The candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, APC in the election is
Senator Senator Muhammad Jibrilla
Bindow.

Ngilari in his suit is asking the court to
determine to wit:

"If the Plaintiff did not resign as
stipulated by sections 306(1), (2) &
(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended), whether by the provisions
of section 191(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended), the Plaintiff
(Barr. Bala James Ngilari) as Deputy
Governor of Adamawa State, should
not have been sworn in as the
substantive Governor of Adamawa State after the impeachment of the 5th
Defendant (Murtala Nyako).

"Whether by the combined provisions
of sections 191(1) and 306(1), (2) &
(5) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal
Republic of Nigeria, the swearing-in of
the 3rd Defendant (Rt. Hon. Ahmadu
Umaru) as Acting Governor of Adamawa State on the 15th of July,
2014 is legal and constitutional.

"If the Plaintiff did not resign as
stipulated by sections 306(1), (2) &
(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended) whether by the provisions
of section 191(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended), the 6th
Defendant is required to conduct a
fresh election to fill the vacant office of
the Governor of Adamawa State after
the impeachment of the 5th Defendant".
-News from Vanguard
By Izu Aniagu