A lawyer, Bar Kalu Kalu has said the 27 lawmakers from Rivers state who recently left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers state have lost their seats in parliament. He stated this in an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, December 12, where he noted that the law states that an elected official can only defect from his party to another during the course of his term if there is a leadership struggle within the party.
He explained: “The 27 affected constituencies, their seats are already vacant, going by the provision of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as uttered. “Once you defect from the political party from which you won election, to another political party before the expiration of the house upon which you were elected, that you automatically lose that seat.”
The lawmakers dumped the PDP for the APC on Monday, December 11, during the sitting of the house.
Also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise a bye-elections for the 27 vacant constituencies in the Rivers state house of assembly. During a press conference held on Tuesday, December 12, Daniel Okwa, the group’s convener, expressed concern about the implications of recent events in Rivers for democracy in the country.
