ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Labour Party (LP) has vowed to pursue legal action against four of its members in the House of Representatives who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, announced on Thursday that Chinedu Okere, Mathew Donatus, Akiba Bassey, and Esosa Iyawe had defected to the APC, citing an alleged “internal crisis” within the LP as their reason.
In response, Labour Party’s spokesperson, Obiora Ifoh, refuted claims of an internal crisis and described the defections as unacceptable.
“There is absolute peace in the Labour Party. Therefore, no one elected on the ticket of the Labour Party has the constitutional protection to decamp from the party along with the party’s mandate,” Ifoh stated.
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The party has instructed its legal team to take action against the defectors and initiate processes to reclaim the mandates, citing provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the 2022 Electoral Act (as amended).
Ifoh condemned the defections, calling them irrational and inconsistent with democratic principles: “The Labour Party received with discontentment the news of defection.
“It is quite unfortunate, and we condemn the action, which is irrational, untenable, inconsistent, and alien to all known norms for which democracy stands.”
Additionally, the LP plans to petition the Speaker to declare the seats of the defectors vacant, as outlined in House rules.
“It is inappropriate and unacceptable for these lawmakers to continue to function as representatives of their constituencies illegally,” Ifoh added.
To deter further defections, the LP announced plans to establish a “Hall of Shame” to record names of defectors and other elected officials who betray the party.
“The party has also decided to open a ‘Hall of Shame’ register for these lawmakers or any lawmaker or elected officer of the party who engages in fraudulent acts of defection without first dropping the mandate gotten under the ticket of the party.
“These lawmakers will feature prominently in the register,” Ifoh explained.