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Court Verdict: AGF Orders Immediate Swearing-In Of Ngilari As Governor

October 8, 2014

Earlier today, Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja, ruling in the matter between James Bala Ngilari and the Adamawa State House of Assembly, nullified the swearing-in of Ahmadu Umar Fintiri as the Acting Governor of the State, and declared the resignation of James Bala Ngilari as unconstitutional, null and void.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has asked the Chief Judge of Adamawa State to immediately swear in Barrister James Bala Ngilari as the Governor.

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A statement by Adedeji Ajibade, the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, said this was in obedience to today’s court judgment and “the need to avert a vacuum in governance and possible constitutional crises (sic)”.

Earlier today, Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja, ruling in the matter between James Bala Ngilari and the Adamawa State House of Assembly, nullified the swearing-in of Ahmadu Umar Fintiri as the Acting Governor of the State, and declared the resignation of James Bala Ngilari as unconstitutional, null and void.

In the statement, the Minister also called on the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission to shelve all the arrangements for the conduct of the bye-elections in the Adamawa.  That election was scheduled for next Saturday, October 11.

An analyst has described as “suspicious,” both the court judgment and the response of the federal government to it, noting that in view of poor performance and the Boko Haram menace, Adamawa is one of the States the Peoples Democratic Party is poised to lose in forthcoming elections.

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