The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a suit seeking to declare vacant the seat of Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade.
Ayade defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in May 2021 from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing the allure of working with President Muhammadu Buhari.
This made the PDP to file a suit against Ayade and his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu, arguing that they had abandoned the political party that sponsored their re-election.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo who was the judge presiding over the case, cited the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Enugu that defection is not a ground for removal from office.
The Justice noted that the removal of a sitting governor and his deputy can only be done in line with constitutional provisions. The Justice, however, agreed that defection from a winning party to a losing one is immoral and improper.
He added that under such provisions, the judiciary lacks the powers to remove an elected officer.
