Reps caucus kicks as PDP member defects to APC

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Minority caucus of the House of Representatives, yesterday, protested the defection of a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Onuigbo, from Abia State, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Onuigbo, who announced his defection in a letter to the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, at yesterday’s plenary, was welcomed into the APC by the Senate Chief Whip and former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu.

Kalu had earlier been admitted into the chamber to witness the defection.

Onuigbo, in his letter, had said he was leaving the PDP because of crisis in the opposition party.

However, as soon as Gbajabiamila was done with the letter, the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, raised an objection, saying the claim of the Abia lawmaker about crisis in the PDP was not correct.

Elumelu charged the speaker to invoke Section  68 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and declare Onuigbo’s seat vacant.

He said: “There can never be crisis in the party. What we are doing is wrong and so, we should declare the seat vacant.”

Deputy Minority Leader,Toby Okechukwu, said: “Onuigbo has taken a dangerous step as there was no crisis in the PDP either in Abia State or at the national level.”