Rivers state house of assembly
Rivers lawmakers are to prepare for fresh election. The Peoples Democratic Party has warned the 25 Rivers State House of Assembly members who defected to the All Progressives Congress not to be duped and to prepare for a new election.
According to the PUNCH, the turmoil engulfing the state House of Assembly took a fresh turn on December 11, 2023, when 27 lawmakers defected from the state’s ruling PDP to the APC.
Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor, signed an eight-point peace accord with his predecessor and Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Monday at the request of President Bola Tinubu, to settle the state’s political turmoil.
Speaking at a press conference following the PDP’s emergency National Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, advised the 25 lawmakers not to be misled by anyone in Abuja who promises them they can return to the State House of Assembly without a new election.
Damagum stated that there would be no relief for lawmakers who had vacated their seats due to defection from the PDP under Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution.
“A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if: 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 election was sponsored.”
“Provided that his membership in the latter political party is not the result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member, or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored; or (h) the Speaker of the House of Assembly receives a certificate under the hand of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission stating that the provisions of section 110 of this Constitution have been met.”
According to the PDP national chairman, “having vacated their seats, the former lawmakers’ only option, if they wish to return to the House of Assembly, is to seek fresh nomination and re-election on the platform of any political party of their choice in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022.”
“The former Rivers legislators freely and without any cause vacated their seats, fully aware of the consequences of defection from the party on which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly without the conditions stipulated by the 1999 Constitution,” he stated.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no division in the PDP at the national or any other level to justify the party’s defection of the 25 former Rivers State House of Assembly members.” As a result, for reasons best known to them, they abandoned their seats and are unable to return to the House of Assembly without going through a new electoral process in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Moreover, in accordance with Section 109 (1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Ehie Edison, officially declared the seats of the defected now former members vacant.”
“Because the Rivers State House of Assembly has become functus officio in the matter, the former lawmakers cannot be re-admitted unless a new election is held.”
“Our party, therefore, counsels the former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly not to be deceived by anybody giving them the false hope and impracticable assurances in Abuja that they can return to the Rivers State House of Assembly without a fresh election or that the Independent National Electoral Commission can be stopped from conducting fresh election into the 25 Rivers State Constituencies where vacancies have occurred because of their defection.”
Damagum pointed out that Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act of 2022 expressly states that no courts have the authority to prevent INEC from holding elections.
He asked that INEC, in accordance with Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022, set a date for the conduct of a fresh election into the 25 Rivers State State Constituencies where vacancies have resulted from the defection.