REVEALED – Reason Why 27 Rivers Lawmakers Will Lose Seats
Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), asserted on Wednesday that there is no internal discord within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) significant enough to justify the defection of members from the Rivers State House of Assembly to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
On Monday, 27 lawmakers, reportedly aligned with the immediate past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, announced their departure from the PDP to join the APC. However, two of these lawmakers were reported to have returned to the PDP.
In response to the unfolding crisis within the assembly, the PDP has urged Edison Ehie, the speaker of the Rivers assembly, to promptly declare the seats of the defected lawmakers vacant.
Addressing the situation, Falana advised the affected lawmakers to seek legal recourse if they find the speaker’s decision objectionable, suggesting that approaching the court would be an appropriate course of action for resolving their grievances.
“The party must have broken down down the line before you can talk of a decision that will warrant your remaining in the house of the assembly. For once, there is no division in your party and you decide to quit,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Every law student knows in Nigeria that automatically, you lose your seat. You will have to re-contest under your new party.”
The human rights lawyer also faulted the lawmakers’ decision, saying they were not exposed to sound legal advice.
According to Falana, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is required by law to conduct elections for the seats of the lawmakers.
“The legislators were not exposed to sound legal advice. Everybody should know that once the Supreme Court has made a pronouncement on a matter in any country, you’re bound to comply, and if you’re going to take any decision, you must study the judgement critically.
“Just yesterday, 20 legislators who defected from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, had their seats declared vacant by the court. That’s the law; unless the Supreme Court decides to change it, that is the law in Nigeria today.
“It’s also a good development; it’s a good law; it’s a good interpretation that there should be no political prostitution in the country because it’s tantamount to political immorality if you vote on the platform of a political party and you abandon the party; you’re advised to go and try your luck by contesting again under the new political party,” he said.
