Hon. Benedict Etanabene, representing the Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency in Delta State, has called on the four lawmakers who recently defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to vacate their seats.
Etanabene emphasized that lawmakers should not need persuasion to take this step, as the law regarding such defections is unequivocal.
According to Daily Post, four members of the LP caucus in the House of Representatives officially joined the ruling APC on Thursday.
The lawmakers include Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency, Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency, Edo).
Their defection was announced by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen during a House session. Meanwhile, the Labour Party has vowed to push for their seats to be declared vacant.
Reacting, Etanabene said on Channels Television’s Politics Today (Friday’s edition): “You were voted into office by this party and you’re now there, you now see the need to jump to another party.
“That matter does not need any explanation. They should have just packed their loads and left the assembly. That is the truth.
“That is the provision of the law. Why this was drafted into the law is to avoid situations like this. But I tell you, it happens every now and then and it is allowed in this country.
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“If not, it is clear. If there’s no division in the party at the national level, you cannot go to another party jettisoning the party that elected you into office. It is clear. Division of the party must be established by court; it is not in the wings and caprices of anybody to postulate or assume a division.
“The court in Nigeria today, even when there were skirmishes of that a few months back, had said that the Julius Abure-led NWC is the authentic leadership of the party. Is there any order of the court contrary to that? I’m not aware.
“So, I don’t believe that what they did is right in the face of law. In a sane society where discipline runs, once that announcement was made yesterday, by today nobody should be sitting on their seats.
“I don’t think this leadership of the house will declare their seats vacant. It’s the trend that has been in place but we must continue to challenge that action in the eyes of the law.”
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