Court to rule on suit seeking to stop Buhari’s ministerial inauguration

Court

The Federal High Court Abuja will, on Monday, deliver its ruling in a suit, seeking to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from inaugurating the 43 ministerial nominees over the exclusion of an FCT indigene from his cabinet list.

The applicant, Mr Musa Baba-panya, who was also the counsel in the case, had, on Thursday, approached the court with an exparte motion, asking the court to stop the president from going ahead on the inauguration.

In suit number: number: CS/876/19, Baba-panya, who is also an indigene of Karu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said the president’s action was contrary to an Appeal Court judgment delivered in 2018.

President Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) are the respondents in the case.

The president would be inaugurating the 43 ministers-designate earlier confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 21.

The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Aug. 6 said that the inauguration would hold at the Federal Executive Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Baba-panya, who argued that the Appeal Court’s ruling was a compelling order, said it was served on the president through the Attorney General of the Federation.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo, who ordered that the suit should commence during the vacation period of the court, adjourned the matter till Aug. 19 for ruling.