The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, is not in its membership register and has therefore not defected to the party.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had approached the court to declare Dogara’s seat in the lower legislative chamber vacant following his defection to the APC in July last year.
PDP claimed the ex-speaker illegally defected to the ruling party after he was re-elected on its platform.
The suit was filed by PDP and its chairman in Bauchi State, Hamza Koshe Akuyam.
The Head of APC Legal Department, Dare Oketade, who filed a counter-affidavit on behalf of the party, dismissed the claim by the PDP that Dogara has defected to the ruling party.
The official said he had gone through the APC membership register and did not find Dogara’s name in the register.
Oketade said: “In fact the 5th defendant (the APC) has not received an application for membership from the 1st defendant (Dogara) or any other person acting under the instruction of the 1st defendant; neither the 5th defendant has issued any membership card to the 1st defendant.
“Recording the name of the 1st defendant as member of the 5th defendant in the membership register of the 5th defendant and the subsequent issuance of APC’s membership card to the 1st defendant confers the 1st defendant the membership of the 5th defendant.”
He said the PDP suit was speculative and instituted in bad faith and urged the court to dismiss the application in the interest of justice.
