Don’t belabour judiciary over defection, Rep tells PDP

Democratic Party (PDP) not to belabour the court by seeking to upturn the defection of 37 House members to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ahmad, a legal expert, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Justice accused the party of misinterpreting the constitutional provision on cross-carpeting to compel the Speaker, Waziri Tambuwal and Senate President, David Mark to declare the seats of the legislators vacant.
Thirty-seven members of the House who were former members of the Kawu Baraje-led new PDP had last Wednesday defected to the APC. 22 Senators had earlier cross-carpeted to the APC in five states of Kwara, Sokoto, Kano, Adamawa and Rivers states.
It would be recalled that the House members and some Senators had on November 28 sought an order of interlocutory injunction at an Abuja Federal High Court to restrain the Speaker and the Senate President from declaring their seats vacant.
The court presided over by Justice A.R. Mohammed last Tuesday adjourned the case till 22nd January 2014 but ordered the President of the Senate (second defendant) and Speaker of the House of Representatives (third defendants) to “maintain status quo on any proposed deliberation to declare the seats of the affected and interested plaintiffs vacant, at least, pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs’ motion for interlocutory injunction”.