Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State’s political camp is tense as a Federal High Court in Abuja prepares to give a make-or-break ruling in a defection action filed against him.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo is anticipated to rule on the legitimacy or otherwise of the governor’s switch from the People’s Democratic Party PDP to the All Progressives Congress APC later today.
Hundreds of the governor’s supporters and admirers have flooded the courthouse, discussing the direction of the court’s pendulum at the time of this report.
Silence As Court Puts Ayade’s Defection Judgment On Hold
Despite the fact that the judgement should have been given out yesterday, it was postponed until today due to a recent Court of Appeal decision on defections.
Justice Taiwo paused the proceedings to assess the consequences of the Court of Appeal’s new defection decision.
Defection did not constitute any recognized violation, according to the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, but fundamental rights to freedom of association as entrenched in Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution.
While the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling was based on a claim filed by the APC gubernatorial candidate in Cross River State against the APC in the previous governorship election, the PDP filed a suit against Ayade in the Federal High Court.
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The defection of Ben Ayade and his deputy from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) prompted the PDP to urge the court to declare their seats vacant.
Meanwhile, Justice Taiwo is being awaited in the fully packed courtroom for the judgment.
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