By Ameh Ejekwonyilo
Abuja
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday fixed today for ruling on an ex-parte application brought by two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking to stop Senator Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state from being nominated as Senate Minority Leader.
The two chieftains, Hon. Alaye Don Pedro and Dr. Okechukwu Ibeh, yesterday approached the court for an order to prohibit nomination of the former governor of Akwa Ibom state for the post of Minority Leader in the 8th Senate.
The Chieftains are contending that nomination of Akpabio for the position of principal officer of the Senate would be in breach of section 3(2) of the Senate Standing Rule.
In a legal action instituted to stop the South-South Senate Caucus from presenting Akpabio for the Minority Leader, they argued that the ex-governor was a first timer in the senate and was by the senate rule not qualified to hold the office for now.
They applied for order of the court to stop the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki from accepting nomination of Akpabio so as to protect the sanctity of the Senate and the breach of its own laws.
The legal action was instituted on their behalf by Mr Joel Bankole Akomolafe and had the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio as defendants.
Other defendants in the suit are the 16 other senators that constituted South-South senate caucus in the Senate.
In a motion ex-parte argued by their counsel yesterday, they asked the court to restrain the defendants from selecting or appointing the minority leader of the Senate by a procedure in breach of order 3 (2) of the Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended pending the determination of their suit.
The presiding judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, will rule on the ex-parte motion today.