The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Friday, set aside the Federal High Court’s 30 October 2025 judgement that sacked Abubakar Gummi as a House of Representatives member.
In a unanimous judgment a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the Federal High Court judge, Obiora Egwuatu, was wrong to have declared Mr Gummi’s seat vacant on the grounds that he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on which platform he contested election, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Mr Gummi, representing the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara State in the House of Representatives, defected from the PDP to the APC, citing various reasons, including the leadership crisis within the party, particularly at the national level.
Delivering Court of Appeal’s judgement, a member of the panel, Oyebiola Oyewumi, held, among others, that the appellant (Mr Gummi) has an inherent right to abandon the PDP, given the notorious state of affairs within the party.
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The court upheld the reasons given by Mr Gummi in support of his decision to defect from the PDP.
The court further held that a party member has the right to seek a better platform to contest an election if his or her present platform is threatened.
The court proceeded to allow the appeal.
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It further set aside the judgement of the trial delivered on 30 October 2025 filed by the PDP and the Zamfara State’s chairperson of the party, Jamilu Jibomagayaki.
The court awarded N1 million against the PDP and Jibomagayaki in favour of Mr Gummi.
Mr Gummi said the crisis in the party created a situation where he could no longer properly represent his constituents or ensure that they all benefited from the shared distribution of democracy’s dividends within the bounds of law, without undue interference from anyone or anything.
(NAN)
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