The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Sunday affirmed the sack of Rimvjat Nanbol of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the lawmaker representing Langtang Central State Constituency.
Nanbol had been sacked from the position by the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in September.
The tribunal declared Hon. Daniel Ninbol Listic of the Labour Party (LP) as winner of the state constituency election.
But the PDP Lawmaker approached the appeal court for final redress.
In a unanimous judgment of a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal read out by Justice Okong Abang, they agreed that the tribunal was right when it held it had jurisdiction to seat over internal affairs of a political party with regards to non-qualification and issue of sponsorship.
Abang upheld the Tribunal’s finding that the structure of PDP had collapsed after the Plateau State High Court declared in a judgment that the party failed to conduct a valid primary/Congress involving delegates from the 17 LGAs of the state.
“It is my view that without complying with court, there was no party by the name PDP in the election.
“It is a joke taken too far” for a political party to disobey an order of court, Abang held.
The judge explained further that a court of law has jurisdiction to entertain a matter bordering on a political party especially if that party disobeys a subsisting order of a court.
“The appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed. The judgment of the Tribunal is hereby affirmed,” Abang held, adding that the LP candidate remains the lawmaker representing the said Constituency at the Plateau House of Assembly.