The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, dragged the Senate President, David Mark, and 11 other serving Senators that were elected on its platform but defected to All Progressives Congress, APC, before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, asking that their seats be declared vacant.
In an originating summons it entered through its lawyer, Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), PDP further urged the high court to order Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to forthwith, conduct elections in the affected senatorial zones to fill the vacant seats.
Senate President David Mark
The party posed three questions for determination by the court: “Whether the 1st defendant, Senate President, by virtue of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not owe a legal duty to declare vacant the seats of the 2nd to 12 defendants, members of the Senate who decamped to APC without satisfying the conditions stipulated under Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
Other issues the plaintiff prayed the high court to determine include “Whether the 2nd to 12th defendants, having been elected to the Senate on the platform of the 1st plaintiff (PDP) can, in view of the provisions of Section 68(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and having failed to meet the conditions laid down in Section 68(1)(g) of the constitution, validly decamp to APC and retain their seats.
“Whether, having regards to questions 1 and 2 above, the 13th defendant (INEC) is not obliged to conduct elections to fill the vacant seats in the affected senatorial districts of the lawmakers.”
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