 It's a breakfast on Plus TV Africa. We're looking at a second conversation now, just two weeks after the court sacked, David Umahi and Eric Kalei-Chiigwe as governor and deputy governor have a boy in state respectively. On the request of the PDP after both men defected to the All Progressive Congress, that's the APC in November 2020. A federal high court in Abuja declared vacant the seat of 20 lawmakers from crush of a state over the ad defection from the People's Democratic Party PDP to the All Progressive Congress APC. The lawmakers, two house of representative members and 18 crush of a state house and assembly members had defected alongside the state governor Ben Ayade some time last year. The George rule that the affected lawmakers cannot continue to maintain their seats after leaving the party on which platform they were elected. PDP had filed a suit preying the court to ask the lawmakers to vacate their seats since they had dumped the party that sponsored them to the assembly. Justice Tywo Tywo in a judgment dismissed the defense argument that the PDP, that's the plaintiff, had no look of standing as a legal right to institute the case. The George held that it was this happening that politicians and the country treat citizens as if they do not matter once they're getting to office. Now delivering the judgment, Justice Tywo said we cannot continue in scene and expect grace to abound. Joining us this morning is Honorable Atah Oshinke, Chairman of the MBA, Calabar and former Tony General of Cross River State. It's good to have you join us Baris Atah Oshinke. Thank you very much for having me. Okay let's quickly show your thoughts. What do you make of this you know pattern and this judgment that's been delivered from the High Court by Justice Tywo Tywo? The judgment is right. The question that all of us have been asking is what were the methods of the House of Assembly thinking? You know the law is very clear. It's a fight in the Constitution. If you decamp, you will lose your seat. They decamp and now the court they should lose their seat. It's very clean. So we know that it is correct and we are happy that the judiciary is whipping errant democratic persons into line. So you said that the law is very specific. Any section of the Constitution you know that talks about this? Oh there are provisions in the Constitution covering the National Assembly members and then the State House of Assembly members. I think the State House of Assembly is covered by section 1 and 9 of the Constitution. And it's very clear if you decamp to your House of the State there is no controversy about that position in the Constitution. What about you've talked about section 109 and of course you can look at section 68 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended 1999. That has given a room away for members of each legislative houses who belong to political parties to leave. I believe that if you are a politician, elected on the platform of a political party, you are not a slave. So the position allows you to leave. And it talks about having, if you permit me, let's just read a few lines from section 68 which has to do with the National Legislature. It says that they shall vacate their seat if election to any of the two chambers sponsored by a political party and he or she later chooses to become a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which the house was elected, provided that his or her membership, I put the header myself, of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member of or a major of two or more political parties. Of course, there was no major between the ABC and PDP. But it can be argued by some of these lawmakers in Cross River State that there were internal wranglies and internal division in the People's Democratic Party in Cross River State of which you are aware, the moves by the federal legislators of the party and some others to make some moves in the party. It's well known to you. So can this be a basis to say there was an internal division in PDP Cross River State? Okay. Okay. The internal division that at that point has been decided by the court previously, not with the Cross River State matter. And the internal division within the party which is recognized by the court to come under this exception must be at the national level of the parties, not at the state level. Other ways what will happen is that every little wrangling, every slight misunderstanding between two persons are the local government at the state or at any level will not become a ground for the country. That will make a charge play of the law. So when the issue came before the court, what the court decided is that the division in the party that will be recognized as a business for an elected member to become would be a division that is happening at the national level of the party. It's not at the state level, not just in the slight tense at the state level that would justify a member of the political party to come in. Okay. So part of the statement, I mean in delivering that ruling, you had Justice Tai was saying that we can't continue like this so that Greece may abound. It feels like it's a pattern. And the pattern is the issue of having politicians or different persons cross-captain from different political parties or decamping if you want to say to others. And this has been a long practice. Some people are asking how is this becoming all of a sudden a major interest as we had close to 2023. But looking at that now, what would be, you know, how do we stop these minutes according to some statement that's been put out by, you know, the judge. Okay. The constitution is not so enforcing the provisions of the constitution that they are not clear. But the judicial system, but the political system was ensured that those provisions are enforced. So what we can do to stop these minutes as you put it, is just to make sure that whoever misconducts himself, they give the consequence. That way, people will learn to be straight. That's the provisions of the constitution were not enforced themselves. We have to bring them to life. So if there is a breach, somebody has to go to court and get the court to win the era in Germany. So by looking at judicial proceedings, we expect that, you know, there should be further approaching of the court. We also still have, you know, the federal high court at this, I mean, the Supreme Court at this point in time. Do you see this case getting to that point? And can we begin to preempt, you know, the actions of the Supreme Court? Yes, we anticipate that the numbers will go to the court about here and maybe up to the Supreme Court. It is their legal rights. In part of the judicial process, we call that the due process of law. We have no problem with that. Let that take place. They are also entitled to have their whole side of the story held. So we expect that at the end of the day, we hope that justice, and not just for them, but so that subsequent people will understand that you will not take the mandate of one action and cross over to another action. Interestingly, this morning, it looks like the State House of Assembly has the cordon of preventing men from attending to their business. They were looking for it. We don't know how that is going to emerge. All right. We see something similar. Atal Chinke playing out in Airborne State, which is neighboring to Cross River State, where the People's Democratic Party has presented two names to replace the governor and the deputy governor of the state, Kelechi Gwebe, deputy governor and Devil Mahid, the governor of Airborne State. The Independent National Electrical Commission seems to be dragging foot on this. And the party has told INEC yesterday that INEC should without further delay immediately hand certificates of return to these individuals, these two gentlemen. What do we expect to have in the happening in Cross River State going forward? And is it that once the case is taken to appeal, there is a stay? Because you know that yesterday, following the application for a state of execution in the Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Milord, the Honourable Justice in IACOR, the lawyer presenting Devil Mahid and his group withdrew that application. There was no objection from the PDP Council. So is it that when there is an appeal automatically there's a stay of execution? It's usually a great area when these kind of things come up. So please take us through that. No. An appeal does not automatically come in as a stay of execution. A stay of execution what they applied for by the party, and then it is at the discretion of the court to grant. Once the judgment is delivered, and there is no order of court for a stay of execution, the judgment is expected to be obeyed immediately. So if you take the voting situation, there is a judgment removing the government. The application for a stay of execution is withdrawn and struck out. I don't know that we have nothing stopping the IACOR from issuing a certificate of return to the PDP nominees as ordered by the court. Well, many thanks, Atal, Shinkare for being part of the show this morning. We do appreciate your time and we look forward to sharing more of your thoughts on this platform. Thank you very much. Some very important information at our Chinkare Square for my attorney general of Cross River State and chairman of the NBA Calabar branch has shared with us this morning that the House of Assembly premises in Cross River State, which we know quite well, because it's inside a compound, you have to really go way inside. It's not on May Road. It has been called off by a policeman security operators who will be bringing you more on that story as the event unfolds. But it's been quite an interesting episode of the breakfast on Plus TV Africa. Well, if you missed out on any part of it, it's all right to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, what Plus TV Africa and Plus TV Africa live. So and do not forget to subscribe to YouTube channel as a Plus TV Africa live. So I am Messy Boppel. Many thanks for watching. And I'm Kofi Patel to return tomorrow. Thanks for watching. Keep watching Plus TV Africa. Good morning.