Federal Lawmaker dissociates self from suit. (Press Release).

Hon Member representing Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency,Hon Dorothy Mato has dissociated her self from a suit filed against the Hon Speaker,Yakubu Dogara by Fidelis Ahangba Angweh.
The suit which was filed by a legal practitioner ,Barr Mike Utsaha Esq a Solicitor of the Supreme Court on the 31st of November 2017 on behalf of Fidelis Ahangbah Angweh who claims to be a member of her constituency was filed against the Hon Speaker House Of Reps,Hon Yakubu Dogara.
In a press release signed by a Legislative Aide to the Honourable Member, Lynda Adzuanagah Esq,The said suit was filed to correct an injustice and the failure to swear Honourable Dorothy Mato into the House of Representatives as directed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria which resulted in the violation of the Fundamental Human Rights of the said Ahangba.


Find below details of the Press Release as sent by the Office of the Hon Member......

PRESS RELEASE BY HONOURABLE DOROTHY MATO PURSUANT TO A SUIT FILED AGAINST THE HONOURABLE SPEAKER YAKUBU DOGARA BY FIDELIS AHANGBA ANGWEH

The attention of Honourable Dorothy Kpentomun Mato, Member Representing Vandeikya/ Konshisha Federal Constituency has been drawn to a court process filed on the 31st of November 2017 filed by Mike Utsaha Esq a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on behalf of his client a certain Fidelis Ahangba Angweh who claims to be a constituent of Honourable Mato's.
The said suit is said to be filed to correct an injustice; the failure to swear Honourable Dorothy Mato into the House of Representatives as directed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria which has resulted in the violation of the Fundamental Human Rights of the said Ahangba.

It is pertinent to set evidential background to clear the air on this matter.
Sometime in August 2017, the same legal practitioner, filed an action on the same subject matter and joined Honourable Mato as a party. Indeed, this legal action, served as part of the delay in the swearing of Honourable Mato as the Speaker was willing to allow all legal actions to be exhausted before he would administer the oath of office on her.


The timely, proactive and spontaneous reaction of Honourable Mato by drawing the attention of His Excellency the Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom who quickly intervened and reached out to the lawyer, appealing to him to withdraw the matter which they did by filing a notice of discontinuance was what averted another long and arduous legal expedition. Copies of the notice of discontinuance were sent to the office of Honourable Mato which same was sent to the office of the Honourable Speaker and all members of the House of Representatives from Zones A and B of Benue State.


It would interest members of the public to know that in all of this, the said Ahangba never reached out, sought the opinion nor ever communicated with the Honourable Member in the course of filing this case. Honourable Mato neither knows nor has ever come in contact with the said Applicant. If indeed he was fighting her cause, why has he never bothered to reach out to her to know the true situation of the matter? Seeing that the entirety of this case is premised on her not being sworn in.


His current cause of action which doesn't join her as a party but yet, uses her matter to buttress his case reeks of mischief, double dealing and malice aforethought.


We are convinced beyond every shadow of doubt that the cause of action is premised on mischief for the fact that if Ahangba claims to be an aggrieved and deprived constituent, he ought to have kept himself abreast of the happenings and should have known that Honourable Dorothy Kpentomun Mato sworn in by the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt Honourable Yakubu Dogara on the 3rd of October 2017 at 11:35 am, three weeks before the filing of his matter.


Ahangba makes his case suspicious because for him to claim to have heard from online sources that Honourable Dorothy Mato had twice presented herself for swearing in, but was unaware that she had presented herself and was sworn-in, can only be the workings of a mischievous and sinister person as the social media and electronic and print media were awash with the news of her being sworn in after so long.

One would expect an applicant with such grievances before a court to have his ears to the ground as regards the very soul and crux of his matter, yet Ahangba claims and feigns ignorance of this epic event.It is therefore necessary to make the following declarations;
1. That Honourable Dorothy Kpentomun Mato disassociates herself in totality from the suit and indeed any such suit in existence or anywhere else for that matter. Having endured the travails of litigation, she is neither interested in being roped into any flimsy, unnecessary, frivolous or mischievous litigation aimed at earning cheap publicity and political points.



2. That recently, Honourable Mato was a part of a delegation of Members of the House of Representatives from Benue to the President and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal of Republic of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR to complain about the current crisis in Benue State resulting in numerous deaths and destruction of property on account of attacks on farming communities by suspected herdsmen. This visit was widely publicized, this gets one wondering if Ahangba lives under a rock as that would be only plausible reason he would claim to be unaware of this widely broadcasted event as she clearly stood out as the only woman and the one who read the speech on behalf of the group.


3. That Honourable Dorothy Mato has since settled into the House of Representatives and enjoys a good relationship with her colleagues and the tremendous goodwill of the Honourable Speaker who magnanimously ensured that she inherited all the committees previously held by the erstwhile ousted Member.
He further co-opted her to other committees as well and she since commenced carrying on her legislative duties as diligently as possible both in her committees and on the floor of the House of Representatives.If Ahangba is truly a constituent of the Vandeikya / Konshisha Federal Constituency, he should not be unaware of the giant strides taken by Honourable Mato since becoming a member of the House of Representatives only a few months ago, his supposed or deliberate ignorance fuels the suspicion of his identity as a constituent or the actor of a badly written script.



4. That Ahangba is crying more than the bereaved as the bereaved have since moved on, wiped their tears and come to terms with reality but Ahangba seems to either be oblivious of the current trend of events or is feigning ignorance to carry out the dictates of political detractors who are yet to come to terms with the fact that Honourable Dorothy Kpentomun Mato is a valid and bona-fide member of the House of Representatives.



5. That Honourable Dorothy Kpentomun Mato is focused on supporting and participating in the passage of good laws that will benefit her constituents and not interested in the distractions of frivolous court cases by faceless and overzealous constituents and no effort to distract or deter her from this laudable cause will be successful.
Thank you.

Lynda Adzuanaga Esq
Legislative Assistant to Honourable Dorothy Kpentomun Mato.