The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urges the 25 Rivers State House of Assembly members, who switched allegiance from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC), to brace themselves for a new election, dismissing any false assurances they might have received.
The Punch reports that the crisis in the state’s House of Assembly escalated when 27 members defected from the ruling PDP to the APC on December 11, 2023. Efforts toward peace included an eight-point agreement signed by the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, at the behest of President Bola Tinubu on Monday.
During a press conference after the PDP’s emergency National Working Committee meeting, the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, emphasized that the defected lawmakers, per Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution, had vacated their seats due to their defection.
Damagum clarified that the former lawmakers, having willingly left their positions, cannot return to the House without a new electoral process, in compliance with the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022.
He highlighted that there’s no legitimate division within the PDP to justify the defection and stressed that the vacancies created by their departure necessitate fresh elections in the affected constituencies.
Demanding INEC to schedule fresh elections in the 25 State Constituencies affected by the defection, Damagum emphasized the constitutional and legal framework guiding such scenarios.
