A senator in Taraba State elected under the banner of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Emmanuel Bwacha has been sacked by the Federal High Court in Jalingo for joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Delivering his ruling, Justice Simon Amobeda ordered Senator Bwacha to “immediately vacate” his seat as a Senator.

According to Justice Amobeda, Senator Bwacha’s mandate in the senate belongs to the PDP, not APC, because he had been elected under the platform of the main opposition party. The court ruling has sparked a war of words between the PDP and APC in Taraba State. The PDP had approached the court to declare the Senator Bwacha’s seat vacant “for dumping” the party on whose platform he was elected.

Senator Emmanuel Bwacha has been in the Senate since 2007 and was formerly a member of the House of Representatives. He was later elected into the Senate under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and has been in the Senate since 2007. He later emerged as the Senate Minority whip until his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Bwacha is also the governorship candidate of the APC for the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.

The PDP in the State had approached the court to declare the seat of Senator vacant for dumping the party on which he was elected. In its reaction to the verdict, the PDP commended the judgment, saying that justice had been done. But the APC in the state said the judgement did not come to the party as a surprise, given the “antecedents” of the Honourable Justice, adding that the ruling will be challenged at a higher court.

Source: The Nation