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 suit 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 sympathizers have flooded the courthouse, discussing the direction of the court’s pendulum at the time of this report.
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 decision on the defection issue.
Defection did not constitute any known violation, according to the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, but constitutional 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 governorship candidate in Cross River State against the APC in the last governorship election, the PDP filed a suit against Ayade in the Federal High Court.
Ben Ayade and his deputy moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), causing the PDP to request that their seats be declared vacant by the court.
Meanwhile, Justice Taiwo’s decision is anticipated in the overflowing courtroom.