Labour Party Moves to Declare Seats of Defecting Lawmakers Vacant

The Labour Party (LP) has vowed to declare vacant the seats of four lawmakers who recently defected from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the National Assembly.

The affected lawmakers, representing constituencies in four states, are Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency, Imo), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency, Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency, Cross River), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency, Edo).

In a statement issued on Thursday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiorah Ifoh, the Labour Party condemned the defections as “irrational, untenable, and inconsistent with democratic norms.”

Ifoh cited Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which outlines the conditions under which a lawmaker may defect to another party, emphasizing that the Constitution does not permit defection unless there is a division within the original party or a merger involving the party.

“The defection, to us, is quite unfortunate, and we condemn the action,” the statement read.

“The Labour Party leadership has elected not to allow it slide and has therefore instructed its legal team to commence legal actions against the defectors to regain our mandates in line with the 1999 Constitution and the 2022 Electoral Act as amended.”

The party also disclosed plans to approach the Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare the seats of the defectors vacant, in accordance with the House Rules.

Furthermore, the Labour Party announced the creation of a “Hall of Shame” register to document the names of defecting lawmakers or any elected officials engaging in similar actions without relinquishing the mandates obtained under the party’s ticket.

“These lawmakers cannot continue to function as representatives of their constituencies illegally,” the statement concluded.

The defections have drawn widespread attention, further intensifying discussions around party loyalty and the legal implications of crossing party lines in Nigeria’s political landscape.