The defection of a member of the House of Representatives, Nnana Raphael Igbokwe, (Ahazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency, Imo) on the floor of the House on Tuesday caused an uproar from members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
- The members said they were standing on a Supreme Court’s ruling that stated that any member of the National Assembly that defects to another party from his/her original party without requisite reasons should forfeit such seat.
- The defection of the lawmaker was witnessed by the Governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, who came to give him support and encouragement.
- The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had read a letter by the lawmaker, who cited crisis as the reason for his defection from PDP to the All Progressive Congress (APC).
- The members, however, said that the speaker was partisan and failed to act properly on the matter.
Reference: In October, the House of Representatives was thrown into a rowdy session following the defection of two PDP members to the ruling APC.
The trouble started when the acting leader of the opposition, Yakubu Barde (PDP, Kaduna), stood up to challenge the defection of his party members.
Barde, who cited provisions of the constitution to buttress his point, argued that the actions of the lawmakers were in contravention of the law since the PDP was no longer in crisis.
His argument was supported by Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) who noted that the House was an institution, which members swore an oath to defend the constitution and, as such, should not condone what was happening.
The defection of the two lawmakers to APC brought the number of APC representatives to 230, against PDP’s 120.
What we think: Crisis is actually a valid reason to defect and his decisions – without bias – should be respected.
If he thinks the activities of the PDP in the state no longer align with his aspirations for the people he represents, then why do the PDP members think he should not have made the move?
Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram
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