Oyogist.com has learned that a Federal High Court in Gusau has dismissed out a suit seeking to remove Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, from office.
Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had filed the suit against the governor over his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Presiding over the case on Monday, Justice Bappa Aliyu said the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
He, however, held that since it was neither a pre-election nor post-election matter, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not prohibit a governor from defecting from a party.
The judge added that the constitutions of the APC and PDP do not make it unlawful for a governor to decide and defect to any other constitutionally recognised political party operating within the country.
He stated that the suit should have been filed before an election petitions tribunal, if it were a pre-election case, stressing that only the tribunal or the State House of Assembly has the power to remove the governor on the grounds of defection.
In its reaction, the national leadership of the APC hailed the judiciary for defending the Constitution and what it termed the popular mandate of
