Gabriel Toby And Nse Ntuen: Court Strikes Out Suits Against Akwa Ibom Speaker Onofiok & Three Ors

Counsel to the plaintiffs, Uyo-Obong Jumbo, informed the court that he was withdrawing the matters and as such will want the court to strike out the suits, though he did not state the reason for the withdrawal. TNL recalls that the plaintiffs filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/878/2018 and FHC/ABJ/CS/879/2018 at the Federal High Court, Abuja on the 14th day of August 2018 praying the court to restrain the Speaker from declaring their seats in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly vacant following their defections from the PDP to the APC. The Honourable Speaker, Onofiok Luke, was represented by Ekemini Udim, a lawyer based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. Legal analysts are of the opinion that the suits having been struck out, the coast is now clear for the Speaker to declare the affected seats vacant as required of him by the 1999 Constitution, particularly section 109 sub 1 and sub 2 of the said Constitution. By the provision of section 109 sub 1 of the Constitution, a member of the House of Assembly shall vacate his seat if, being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected. By section 109 sub 2, the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall give effect to the provision of subsection 1 above by declaring the seats of those who decamped vacant. ]]>