A
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday refused to halt the
impeachment proceeding being spearheaded by the 19 All Progressives
Congress, APC, members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly against
Governor Ayodele Fayose, and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola.
The
impeachment proceeding notice is said to have been served on the
governor and his deputy by the 19 All Progressives Congress, APC,
members who have been at loggerheads with the governor since he came on
board last October.
Although Fayose has been
working with only seven members of the PDP in the House, the APC
lawmakers, which the governor does not recognise, returned to the state
this week with an impeachment notice, prompting the closure of the House
of Assembly by security agents.
But the governor’s bid to stop
the impeachment through an interim injunction did not go through as the
court rejected their prayers contained in an ex parte application
seeking interim injunction to set aside the impeachment notice served on
them and halt further moves to remove them from office.
The
court, however, granted prayers contained in the ex parte application
relating to service of the court processes on the defendants.
Justice
Ahmed Mohammed ordered the defendants in the suit, including the APC
factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, and the
Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, to appear in court
on April 16.
The court ordered the defendants to appear in court
to show cause why the order of interim injunction being sought by the
plaintiffs halting the impeachment proceedings should not be granted.
Other
defendants in the suit are, the Inspector General of Police, Mr.
Suleiman Abba, and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The
plaintiffs in the suit are the Speaker of the House of Assembly
(described as being occupied by the Peoples Democratic Party factional
Speaker, Dele Olugbemi); Ekiti State House of Assembly, Fayose and
Olusola.
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr. Ahmed Raji, had sought
the interim injunction halting the impeachment moves through an ex parte
application dated and filed on April 7, 2015.
He had urged the
court to grant the interim injunction setting aside the impeachment
notice already served on the governor and the deputy and also
restraining the defendants from taking any further steps in the
impeachment moves.
The lawyer argued that the act by Omirin to
issue an impeachment notice and serve same on the governor and the
deputy governor as Speaker of the House of Assembly amounted to
impersonating the incumbent Speaker.
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