The Labour Party has vowed to declare vacant the seats of
the four lawmakers representing the party in the National Assembly who defected
to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Recall that on Thursday four LP lawmakers from four states:
Kaduna, Imo, Edo and Cross River had defected to the APC.
The lawmakers are Chinedu Okere (Owerri municipal/owerri
north/Owerri west constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura federal constituency of
Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar municipal/Odukpani constituency), and Esosa
Iyawe (Oredo federal constituency of Edo).
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity
Secretary, Obiorah Ifoh on Thursday, he said the Labour Party will take legal
action against the defectors.
The statement reads in part, “The defection, to us, is quite
unfortunate and we condemn the action which is irrational, untenable,
inconsistent and alien to all known norms for which democracy stands for.
“Section 68(g) of the 1999 constitution is emphatic on when
to defect and what happens when a lawmaker sponsored by a political party
decides to jump ship.
“The Constitution states (g) being a person whose election
to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another
political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was
elected;
“Provided that his membership of the latter political party
is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was
previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions
by one of which he was previously sponsored;
“Though, the Labour Party leadership is undaunted by the
defection, it has however, elected not to allow it slide and has therefore
instructed its legal team to commence the legal actions against the defectors
and to also commence the process of regaining our mandates in line with the
1999 constitution and 2022 Electoral Act as amended.
“The party will also approach the Speaker of the House of
Representatives to declare vacant the seats occupied by these former Labour
Party members in line with the House Rules.
“It is inappropriate and unacceptable for these lawmakers to
continue to function as representatives of their constituencies illegally.
“The party has also decided to open a ‘Hall of Shame’
register for these lawmakers or any lawmaker or elected officer of the party
who engages in fraudulent acts of defection without first dropping the mandate
gotten under the ticket of the party.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on Areatatafo.com.ng to reach thousands of our daily users
