Senate Minority Leader: Court rules on suit challenging Akpabio’s eligibility today

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court will, today, determine whether or not the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio is qualified to be appointed as the Minority Leader of the 8th Senate.

The suit, which was lodged before the court by two members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from Rivers and Imo states, Alaye Pedro and Dr. Okechukwu Ibeh, respectively, has 18 Senators from the South-South geo-political zone as defendants.

The plaintiffs are praying the court to restrain the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and members of PDP caucus from the South-South in the Senate from appointing the Senate Minority Leader outside the provision of Order 3(2) of Senate Standing Orders 2015 (as amended).

The aforementioned rule of the Senate prohibits the appointment of a first time Senator as a principal officer.

The plaintiffs maintained that whereas PDP is the leading minority party in the Senate and is entitled to produce the Minority Leader, they contended that in line with Order 3(2) of Senate Standing Orders 2015, ranking must be the basis for appointment of such principal officer.

They averred before the court that “ranking ensures that principal officers posses adequate experience and avoids promoting junior over senior,” adding that in zoning the position of the Minority Leader to South-South, PDP take into consideration the ranking of PDP senators from the zone.

The plaintiffs, however, decried that “a clique within the larger PDP caucus in the 8th National Assembly has concluded plans to subvert the mandatory provision of Order 3(20) of the Senate Standing Orders by selecting or appointing the Minority Leader by a procedure in breach of Order 3(2) of the Senate Standing Orders 2015.”

Consequently, they urged the court to intervene by ensuring that the proper procedure was adhered to by the leadership of the Senate with regards to the appointment of Minority Leader.