Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, as well as other Senate officials on Monday shunned a scheduled hearing in a suit seeking their removal from office.
The removal of Saraki and the other principal officers is being sought on the grounds of alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 used for the conduct of their elections shortly after the proclamation of the 8th Senate on June 9.
Plaintiffs in the suit, which is before the Federal High Court in Abuja, are Senators Abu Ibrahim, Kabir Marafa, Ajayi Boroffice, Olugbenga Ashafa and Suleiman Hunkuni, all supporters of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the Senate presidency eventually won by Saraki.
The six defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/651/2015, are Saraki, Ekweremadu, the National Assembly and the Clerks of both the National Assembly and the Senate.
None of the defendants was represented by their lawyers when the matter came up on Monday before Justice Adeniyi Ademola, to whom the case was re-assigned after he took over from Justice Gabriel Kolawole as the vacation judge of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.
While delivering a ruling during Monday’s proceedings, Justice Ademola noted that the choice of Monday for the hearing of the plaintiffs’ motion on notice seeking an order restraining the Senate from going ahead to constitute its standing and ad hoc committees was with the consent of lawyers to the parties to the suit.
However, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief Mamman Osuman (SAN), withdrew the motion on notice during the proceedings, saying the essence of the application had been overtaken by event with some of the committees already constituted.
Justice Ademola, while striking out the motion on notice in a short ruling, noted that the application contained the same set of prayers that were in the plaintiffs’ ex parte application earlier dismissed by Justice Kolawole.
The plaintiffs had anchored their suit on the use of alleged illegitimate and unconstitutional Senate Standing Orders 2015 to conduct the election of the current leadership of the Senate on June 9.
The plaintiffs alleged that the Senate Standing Orders 2015 was “contrived” from the amendment of the 2011 version of the Orders without following its (the 2011 edition’s) relevant provisions and those of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
They argued that the said amendment was in breach of the “prescriptive procedures” stipulated by the extant provisions of section 60 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Rule 110(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the Senate Standing Orders 2011 (as amended).
They therefore contended that the election of the current leadership of the Senate and other proceedings based on the unconstitutional Orders was null and void.
The senators are seeking, among other prayers, the declaration of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as null and void for being a product of an alleged illegitimate and unconstitutional amendment of the 2011 version of the standing orders.
They also want the court to nullify the amended order as well as the election of Saraki as the Senate President and that of Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President, for being products of the alleged illegal orders.


www.punchng.com/news/forgery-saraki-ekweremadu-others-shun-court/

** I Was Here**

same old gist




the president said the ministerial list will be ready in September!

if you think the ministerial list will be out dis month, pls click like!

if you think the ministerial list will be out in the fullness of time(not September), share!

ok

Why

*+*

One mumu said court dismissed the suit.

Nigeria has been playing with court since 19bc

How much really is the fare to anarchy? We all need to know the transport cost to getting there before we start trekking to the place. OBJ operated the 1999 Constitution for 8 years without a breach of any of the democratic principles in it. Yaradua operated it too, democratically, for about two years. GEJ also did democratically for about 6 years. We haven't had a 100 days of APC Government yet, and we are already having constitutional problems, such as:- Biafra wanting to separate unconstitutionally from the Republic; APC taking NASS to court for what is entirely party affairs; Mr. President being accussed of making lopsided appointments; Mr. President's rapprochement with Islamic nations being seen as planning to plant ISIS in the North to intimidate the South and misinform the secular nature of our constitution etc. My Prayer: Please let us apply and implement the constitution of Nigeria with Knowledge and decorum that may lead and guide us to Utopia!!!!