Court of Appeal sacks 16th PDP lawmaker in Plateau State, gives reason

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked the last man-standing lawmaker of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Cornelius Doeyok.

According to Daily Trust, Doeyok was the last and 16th lawmaker of the PDP that the appellate court would sack on the ground that his party lacked the structure to sponsor any candidate in the 2023 general election in the state.

With the sack of Doeyok on Wednesday, November 29, the PDP has lost all its 16 seats in the Plateau State House of Assembly to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abdu-Azeez Wazi-led panel of justices of the court, in a unanimous decision, declared APC candidate Professor Theodore Bala Maiyaki as the authentic winner of the March 18 State House of Assembly election in the Quaanpan South constituency.

Justice Wazi-led panel then ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return that was issued to Doeyok, and a new one should be issued to Maiyaki.

With the sack of all the 16 lawmakers in the house, the APC now have 22 seats while the Labour Party and Young Peoples Congress (YPP) have one seat each.

For the same reason, the court has sacked governor of the state, Caleb Mutfwang, and all three senators elected under the PDP.