Court orders ex-Speaker Dogara to vacate Reps seat over defection

Court orders ex-Speaker Dogara to vacate Reps seat over defection

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara appears to be having a hard time in securing his seat in the green chamber.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, ordered Dogara to vacate his seat as the member representing Bogoro/Dass Federal constituency of Bauchi State.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Donatus Okorowo, declared that having defected from Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress, the ex-Speaker was no longer qualified to occupy the seat by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the constitution.

The judge aligned with the argument of the PDP that by defecting from the party that sponsored him to the ninth National Assembly before the expiration of his tenure, Dogara ought to vacate the seat as he was no longer qualified to partake in the activities of the lower house.

It would be recalled that Dogara, who served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2015 and 2019, defected to the APC after winning his re-election under the PDP in the last general elections.

His not-too-smooth relationship with his state governor, Bala Mohammed, was said to be one of the main reasons he ditched the PDP which he joined less than five years ago.

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