…as 27 members defect
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh elections in 27 state constituencies of Rivers State.
The party made the request following the defection of 27 Rivers State Assembly members from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP further demanded that INEC declare the seats of the defectors vacant.
The PDP attested in a statement, that “according to Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the seats of the 27 lawmakers have automatically become vacant as a result of their departure from the PDP, the political party under whose platform they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, said in the statement, that, “a member shall vacate their seat if they become a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which the House was elected. The PDP emphasises that the Supreme Court’s clear interpretation supports the view that the defected members have forfeited their seats, rights, privileges, recognition, and obligations.”
The PDP consequently advised the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to comply with the Constitution by declaring the seats of the 27 lawmakers vacant, because by vacating the party on whose platform they were elected to office, they had likewise vacated the offices they were elected to.
It adds that given the now-existing vacancies in the 27 State Constituencies of Rivers State, the PDP requests that INEC, within the stipulated period outlined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), organise fresh elections to fill the vacancies.
The PDP subsequently cautioned the lawmakers against parading themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, stressing that such presentation would amount to impersonation and was actionable and punishable under the law.
