Court sacks Yakubu Dogara from House of Reps.
Written by News Room on April 22, 2022
A former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has been ordered by a Federal High Court, to vacate his seat as member representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State.
Justice Donatus Okorowo, in a judgment, declared that having defected from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC), Dogara was no longer qualified to occupy the seat by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the constitution.
Justice Okorowo aligned with the argument of the PDP (plaintiff) 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.
The judge, who held that the action of the lawmaker is prohibited by law, agreed that the aim of Section 68(1)(g) was to check political prostitution among the legislators.
The PDP and the group had asked the court to remove the former speaker of the lower House as member representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, over his defection to APC.
Dogara had, on July 24, 2020, defected from the PDP to the APC when he submitted a resignation letter to the chairman of the Bogoro ‘C’ Ward in the state.
