Court rules on suit seeking to stop ministerial inauguration on Monday

By Andrew Orolua, Abuja

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, Musa Baba-panya, who is also the counsel in the case had on Thursday, approached the court with an ex-parte motion, asking the court to stop the President from going ahead with the inauguration.

In suit 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 office of the secretary to the government of the federation on August 6 had said that the inauguration of the ministers-designate 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 August 19 for ruling.