ABUJA – Former Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, Mr Abdulsalam Olawale, says aggrieved parties can appeal against the court order which declared Mr. Bala Ngilari as substantive Governor of Adamawa or obey the ruling.
The former speaker told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the only option left for the Adamawa House of Assembly, INEC or other parties involved was to appeal.
He said with the judgment, INEC would not be able to hold elections at the weekend, adding that the ruling could only be appealed.
“It is a court decision which is subject to appeal; so the parties involved, either INEC or the Acting Governor can appeal.
`The court has given its ruling. It is therefore left for the house of assembly to prove that the deputy governor resigned or not.
“They both obey the ruling of the court or appeal and wait till the determination of the case,“ he said.
In the same vein, former Deputy Speaker, Cross River House of Assembly, Mr Orok Duke, said the development was healthy for democracy.
Duke, who described the action of Umar Fintiri as ambitious, said he had no business taking over as acting governor.
“The development is healthy for our democracy and I think that no matter how long it takes, the right thing should be done.
“Going ahead to muzzle the deputy governor was not right because first and foremost, they never considered the deputy governor as one of those to be impeached.
“So, while the governor was impeached, the mantle of leadership ought to have fallen on the deputy and not for them to muzzle him out and then swear in the speaker. [eap_ad_2] “Fintiri had no business taking over as governor. He was over ambitious,’’ he said.
A civil rights activist, Steve Aluko, said the ruling was a good development for the rule of law.
He advised the legislative arm of government to always carry out its oversight functions with caution.
“The judgment is a lesson to the legislative arm.
“We should seek to do the right thing at the right time, without massaging anybody’s political ego.
“The legislature should respect the sanctity of the mandate that brought them into office by carrying out their oversight functions judiciously,“ he said.
Justice Ademola Adeniyi of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday ordered that Mr. Bala Ngilari be sworn in as substantive governor of the state.
The former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Alhaji Umar Fintiri, was also ordered to vacate office as the acting governor of the state.
Adeniyi ruled that the alleged resignation of Ngilari on July 14, was invalid, null and void.
According to him, it breached the provisions of Sections 306(1), (2) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution because it was addressed to the Speaker and acted upon by the House of Assembly. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]
