PDP asks INEC to conduct fresh election in Rivers after 27 assembly members join APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh elections in Rivers State after 27 members of the House of Assembly elected on the platform of the party defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This was contained in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba on Monday.

Ologunagba in the statement, said as a result of their defections the assembly members had forfeited their seats.

He urged the speaker of the assembly to declare their seats so INEC can conduct fresh elections to fill them.

The statement read in part, “The PDP asserts that by defecting from the PDP, the political Party platform on which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly, the seats of the respective 27 former lawmakers have become vacant by virtue of the provision of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“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…’

“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.

“The PDP therefore demands that the Speaker of the Rivers State House Assembly immediately comply with the provision of the Constitution by declaring the seats of the 27 former lawmakers vacant.

“In view of the vacancy now exiting in the 27 State Constituencies in Rivers State, the PDP demands that INEC should within the stipulated period under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) conduct fresh election to fill the vacancies.

“Our Party cautions that the former lawmakers should stop parading themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly as such would amount to impersonation with serious criminal consequences.”