Court dismisses APC move to sack ex-Gov Ortom for defecting to PDP

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, dismissed a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking to sack the immediate past Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom for defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The APC had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP and Ortom before the court and demanded the former governor’s removal over defection to the PDP.

In the suit, the APC had asserted that it had canvassed for votes and won the 2019 governorship election in Benue State with 422,932 as against the PDP which scored 313, 878, before Ortom who was its candidate in the election defected.

The APC also prayed the court to invoke sections 1, 177 and 179 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 97 of the Electoral Act 2010 to hold that Ortom cannot transfer its lawful votes to PDP, thereby making PDP to unlawfully become the winner of the 2019 poll.

READ ALSO:Stop blaming Ortom for your failures, Benue group tells Governor Alia

However, during the hearing on Monday, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo dismissed the suit for lack of merit.

He held that the suit had become academic, an exercise in futility and can no longer confer any benefits on the APC.

The judge noted that the court has no power to extend the tenure in dispute to accommodate the request of the APC as the tenure under which the APC filed the case had been spent by Ortom before the case could be concluded.

Basing his judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/458/2022, Justice Ekwo held that the cause of action had ceased from the day the former governor completed the tenure of office.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now