Kogi east senator speaks on appeal court ruling

Attai Aidoko, senator representing Kogi east, says the appellate court has not declared his seat vacant.

Aidoko said this while speaking on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday.

The senator explained that he had asked the appeal court for reference because it had earlier ruled that the federal high court, Abuja did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The lawmaker said the appellate court held that he did not meet the requirement for a reference and ordered him to go back to the lower court to continue trial.

“Mr President what really happened was of course, arising from the decision of the supreme court on the matter of my senatorial district that we should go back to the federal high court to start the trial by calling evidence, we were there in June before a judge of the federal high court,” he said.

“Because I sought for reference, it wasn’t an appeal, to ask the court to inteprete or answer some constitutional questions because the court of appeal sitting here had given a judgment that the federal high court has no jurisdiction to entertain such matters.

“Now we are before the federal high court again who is going to decide on that same issue that has already been decided by the court of appeal, so I now sought for reference from the court of appeal, yesterday the court of appeal said the requirements for reference – we have not met it therefore we should go back to the federal high court to continue the trial which has been on since June. There was nothing in the decision yesterday, there was no question of who is the candidate.”