Taraba APC says Speaker seat vacant as Court of Appeal orders fresh election

*Abel Diah is still in charge as speaker, says PDP

A new twist has been added to the Taraba political atmosphere as the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola has pronounced that a fresh election be conducted in five polling units of Mbanga constituency of Sardauna LGA  of Taraba state, where the incumbent speaker, Hon Abel Diah [image above] hail from.

The counsel to the APC candidate Barr M A John While speaking with newsmen after the judgement said, Hon. Peter Diah has seized to exist as the sitting member representing Mbamga constituency and speaker of the  Taraba state House of Assembly by implication of the Court of Appeal ruling pending the conduct of the re-run election .

In part of the judgement delivered yesterday by Justice H J Sankeh the jurist ordered for a rerun election with immediate effect, having unveiled some salient and contentious issues in the legal Battle, where the incumbent speaker headed to court of appeal in Yola Division to claim back his mandate after the National and state Assembly Tribunal nullified his election due to alleged irregularities as claimed by the APC candidate.

The verdict pronounced that “all the votes cast to the  three polling units should be taken back to their rightful owners in the ward where there was partial and skeletal accreditation at the last election conducted in the polling units of MBanga petel, Vakuden den, GDSS Mbamga, Mbamba down, Mbamba three corner, Limp and Bra.

There was another dimension of the case after the verdict been pronounced by the Presiding Judge to adjourned the hearing of a case filed by PDP against the APC  after a partial upholding of the Tribunal verdict and partially setting aside the verdict of the Tribunal.

The Chief of staff to the contending speaker, Mr Philip Andrew who spoke on behalf of the speaker insists that Peter Diah still remains the speaker as there is a new case instituted against the APC challenging the re-run election of the five polling units.

“The judgment that was passed yesterday was one side of the judgment, even in that the case of the speaker succeeded in part, they were challenging some irregularities in some polling units that election was held and court set aside some number of polling units which they claimed they have won. To some extend the speaker’s case succeeded in part,” Philip said.

“Another side of the case supposed to be heard today challenging some technical issues that were raised by PDP in my state, since the judgment is proponed for latter date until that judgment is passed you will not conclusively say the speaker is remove,” he added.

Mr Andrew bend on saying that the other side of the case is definitely going to favor the speaker, even it turns otherwise is all a success story because those areas are still having much reserve loyalty to the speaker, at any time is sure they will ever cast their votes for him.

But APC lawyer emphasized that the seat of the Taraba speaker is now vacant threatened to take another legal step if Abel Diah perform  any action in his capacity as the speaker following court pronouncements.

By Tom Garba, Yola