Sacked Plateau PDP Lawmakers Intensify Tension, Pledge To Resume Today

As the Plateau State House of Assembly reconvenes for plenary today (Tuesday), the 16 lawmakers elected under the Peoples Democratic Party have declared their intention to resume legislative duties despite being dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

In response, the All Progressives Congress insisted that the lawmakers remain sacked, characterizing their plan to resume as an “invitation to anarchy and a threat to democracy.”

In November, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed all 16 members of the state House of Assembly elected under the PDP, citing the party’s lack of a structure to nominate them as candidates.

Addressing a press conference in Jos on Monday, the 16 lawmakers, led by former Majority Leader Yobo Ishaku, argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling, which upheld Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s election on the same grounds, validated the PDP’s ability to nominate them. As a result, they asserted that the Court of Appeal’s decision to sack them as lawmakers had become null and void.

Ishaku, who represented Bokkos state constituency, said, “Our recess ends today (Monday), and we want to inform the public that we, the PDP family, are in high spirits and are willing to go back to our legislative duties willingly given to us by our various constituencies. So, we are all ready to resume work tomorrow (Tuesday).”

Detailing the reasoning behind their choice to resume plenary, Ishaku stated, “While we were on recess, there were two judgments passed regarding the Plateau State House of Assembly. The first one was the one given by the Court of Appeal, of which the Justices said one could not put something on nothing; PDP on the Plateau had no structure, and it was on that basis and premise that they sacked all the 16 PDP House of Assembly members.

“And while we were still on recess, the Supreme Court gave its verdict regarding the same issue, and in the judgment, the Supreme Court said the case that was brought before the Court of Appeal was fraudulent and that the court even lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter in the first place. And by that, it shows that, referring to their submission, you cannot build something on nothing. By implication, the verdict of the Court of Appeal is a nullity, and we are disregarding that judgment in its entirety.”

Ishaku, who insisted that they were products of democracy who were validly elected by their various constituents, also said, “Our constituents are ready and willing to accompany us to our sitting tomorrow because they voted for us, and they are not ready to compromise that.”

The PDP lawmakers urged President Bola Tinubu and the heads of the Nigerian judiciary to sanction the President of the Court of Appeal, under whose watch they were dismissed.

However, the APC in the state swiftly responded, describing the intended resumption of the sacked PDP lawmakers as an invitation to anarchy and a threat to democracy.

APC lawmakers characterized the plan and threats to resume as not only an assault on democracy but also an insurrection against the state.

In a statement released on Monday by its Publicity Secretary, Sylvanus Namang, the Plateau APC reiterated that the PDP lawmakers remained sacked under the law.

The APC said, “It has come to the notice of the Plateau State chapter of the APC a plan by the 16 members of the PDP sacked by the Court of Appeal last year to invade the House, which resumes sitting tomorrow (Tuesday) after nearly two months recess as sitting members of the Plateau State House of Assembly.

“According to information reaching us, the members sat at an undisclosed location and addressed the press on their invidious and diabolical plan.

“According to information at our disposal, the sacked members would be accompanied by members of their various constituencies to confuse an unimaginable proportion.

“The press conference, which was laced with threats, warned the APC members of the House not to go near the House of Assembly because the Supreme Court had invalidated the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which sacked them.

“What began last week as a veiled threat by a former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Istifanus Mwansat, during his infamous interview with AIT is fast becoming a reality.

“The APC and all peace-loving citizens of Plateau State had expected that he ought not to be walking the streets as a free citizen following his inflammatory outbursts.

“The APC accepted, for the sake of democracy and peaceful coexistence, the judgment of the Supreme Court in good fate and appealed to our members not to embark on anything to the contrary, which they obeyed.“