A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Umar Uba, has accused the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, of refusing to comply with a valid court order that declared him the elected to the House to represent Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski federal constituency of Kebbi State.
In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Abuja yesterday, Uba said that the speaker’s failure to comply with the judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto, by refusing to swear him in as
declared by the court, seemed like an attempt to shield the incumbent member for the disputed constituency, Hon Halima Tukur.
“It is also curious for the Speaker’s attitude, considering that INEC, which has the sole responsibility of issuance of certificate of return to a winner of an election, has withdrawn the one it earlier gave to my opponent and issued me with one.
It raises the issue of who determines a winner of election: is it INEC that gave me the certificate, court that declared me the rightful owner of the seat, or the Speaker, whose role is only to swear me in?” Uba queried.
Uba, who served in the House from 2003 to 2007, had in the build up to the last general election won the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) primary election to contest for the House of Representatives in the constituency.
His victory was however short lived, as the Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto, on March 30, 2011 declared Halima as the winner of the election, a judgement which Uba appealed in the Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto.? Justice? A. O. Belgore on September 3, 2011 set aside the judgment of the lower court and declared Uba the PDP’s candidate and winner of the April election.