The Special Adviser on Strategic Communications to Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, Hon. Timothy Golu, has made it clear that the Court Injunctions, not the Plateau Government are stopping the swearing of APC and Labour Party lawmakers who were declared winners of the court of appeal.
According to Daily Trust, Hon. Timothy Golu made this known in an interview with the Media Trust Headquarter Group on Monday.
Hon. Golu, a former member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Pankshin, Kanke, and Kanam, addressed the issue in the state House of Assembly stating that The delay in the swearing-in of the 16 APC and Labour Party lawmakers who were supposed to replace the sacked Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers is said to have grounded legislative actions in Plateau State. How does this development affect the state government?
“Democracy is about due process, and the governor is committed to this, especially on this issue. I recall that the Court of Appeal has given judgment in favour of the APC lawmakers that they should be sworn in against the 16 PDP lawmakers that they should be sacked. Before then, the House had adjourned around November to January, so the House was to reconvene on the 23rd of January. A few days before that day, two injunctions were served on the Speaker, one by the Labour Party aspirants also in the same race for the same House of Assembly. Many people didn’t know that even before the elections, the 13 LP aspirants representing 13 constituencies had obtained an injunction because their logo was omitted during the elections. There were many elections that were cancelled as a result of the omission of the logo” Hon. Golu said.
So, the Court of Appeal gave judgment in favour of those people, saying that INEC should include them in the election. INEC did not comply.
Hon. Golu said that “These people followed it up. Suddenly, those people who were pursuing their litigation got an injunction restraining the House due to the non-compliance of INEC with the court judgment in respect to the Labour Party’s case. That restrained the speaker from swearing in anyone. In fact, it’s not just the injunction. There’s another by a civil society organization in the state. So, the Speaker read out the two injunctions to the public. You can’t go against such an injunction. If they vacate this injunction, they will definitely be sworn in, which means that the ball is in the court of the courts of law”
“You recall that the governor gave appointments to even the 16 PDP lawmakers to go and serve as liaison officers in their various constituencies. That tells you that we are ready to swear in anybody that the court gives judgment. But let the rule of law not be circumvented by our personal wishes”
“But in what way is this crisis affecting governance in the state?
“It is not that they (the house) are not sitting; these eight members are sitting because, constitutionally, they have the power to sit because that is the total number of our legislators. This is allowed by democracy; the two-thirds of eight can be calculated, and they can take a decision because they are eight recognized by law. As I speak to you, they are going to resume sitting tomorrow (Tuesday) again to continue discussions. They have approved a lot of things for the governor. But you know that the noise of the eight people cannot be equated to the noise of the 24 people; that is why some people are feeling the thing is not moving”
“For the information of the public, the house has been moved, by resolution, to the Government House because the house premises are under renovation.
As far as we are concerned, there is nothing major that has been stalled as a result of the inability of the house to address its crisis. But we are very hopeful that very soon the courts are going to give proper attention to it so that they can resolve this thing, and whichever way it goes, the state government will comply.
Many people have been pointing accusing fingers at the governor, wondering whether he is the one who is doing this. No, he is on the executive side; everybody knows that, politically, people talk across intra- or intergovernmental levels” Hon Golu added.
SOURCE: DAILYTRUST
