Group writes INEC, demands by-election into seats of defected lawmakers
A member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Evans Bapakaye Bipi, has declared that all the 27 lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected to the All Progressives Congress on Monday morning have lost their seats in the House.
The 27 lawmakers, who are said to be loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and immediate past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress on Monday morning.
Reacting to the development, Bipi who is one of the lawmakers loyal to Governor Simi Fubara and representing Ogu / Bolo State Constituency, told GRANDNEWS ONLINE in an exclusive chat that those seats would be declared vacant soon by the Speaker, Rt Hon Edison Ehie, who is loyal to Fubara.
Bipi said that: “This morning, lawmakers loyal to Wike defected to APC which is against the Electoral Act. The Electoral Act says the moment a member either in the Senate, House of Representatives or State House of Assembly defects from their party to another, the seat will be declared vacant. As it stands now, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Edision Ehie, will soon declare their seats vacant and he has the right because they are no longer members of the House. They defected to another party when there is no crisis whatsoever in their party.
“And the Electoral Act goes against that type of behavior. So, in the eyes of the Law as I speak with you, they are no longer members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Their seats must be declared vacant today. So, very soon, the House will be convened and their seats will be declared vacant,” Bipi stated.
Meanwhile, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Center for Reform and Public Advocacy (CFRPA), has written to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, demanding that the seats of the 27 defecting Rivers lawmakers be declared vacant and the conduct of a by-election in 27 state constituencies in the State.
The group’s demand was sequel to the defection of the 27 PDP lawmakers.
The letter which was signed by CFRPA‘s Legal Adviser, Kalu Kalu Agu, read in part:
“We are a non-governmental organization with the object of advocating for good governance.
“We respectfully wish to bring to your notice that Twenty Seven (27) PDP MEMBERS of the Rivers State House of Assembly have defected to All Progressives Congress.
“With the greatest respect, sir, the legal implications of the said defection are:
“That by virtue of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the said Twenty Seven (27) PDP MEMBERS of the Rivers State House of Assembly have lost their membership of the Rivers State House of Assembly;
“That by virtue of the decision in OGBUOJI VS. UMUHA (2022) 8 NWLR (PT 1832), 323, the Independent National Electoral Commission shall conduct a bye election to fill the vacancies created by the said defection.
“In view of the foregoing, we respectfully implore you to commence the process of conducting a bye election in Rivers State to fill the said vacancies.
“Take notice that in the event you fail to heed to our demand within forty eight hours of receipt of this letter, we shall commence a legal action to compel you to comply with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
“We do hope that you will heed to our demand to allow wise counsel prevail.
“Please, do accept the assurances of our esteemed regards to resolving this issue.”
