The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to promptly initiate the process of conducting fresh elections in the 27 constituencies in Rivers State, which have become vacant due to defections in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
According to the PDP, the seats of the 27 former lawmakers have become vacant in line with Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, following their defection from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Debo Ologunagba, the party’s national publicity secretary, emphasized that the Speaker of the Rivers State House Assembly should “immediately comply with the provisions of the Constitution by declaring the seats of the 27 former lawmakers vacant.”
Ologunagba’s statement reads: “For the avoidance of doubt, Section 109 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly 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.”
He continued, “By reason of the above Constitutional provision and its clear interpretation by the Supreme Court, the 27 defected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have vacated and lost their seats, rights, privileges, recognition, and obligations accruable to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
“In view of the vacancy now existing in the 27 state constituencies in Rivers State, the PDP demands that INEC, within the stipulated period under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), conduct a fresh election to fill the vacancies.”
The party also cautioned that the former lawmakers should refrain from parading themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as it would amount to impersonation with severe criminal consequences.
This call by the PDP highlights the escalating tensions and legal intricacies surrounding the political landscape in Rivers State, setting the stage for potential electoral upheaval that could reshape the state’s legislative composition.
