Rivers Assembly: 25 defectors have lost their seats,  PDP insists

Says Wike not above party

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the 25 members of the Rivers State  House of Assembly, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot return to the parliament.

The PDP Acting  National Chairman, Umar Damagum, at a press briefing, Abuja, said the defectors have lost their seats and can only return to the House by seeking re-election.

Damagum, while reacting to questions at the briefing, said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), Nyesom Wike, was not above the opposition party.

The Rivers State has been engulfed in crisis following a disagreement between Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The crisis has led to the factionalisation of the House of Assembly.

President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, at a meeting attended  by stakeholders in Rivers State, intervened in the crisis. Resolutions reached at the parley included that the defecting members should retain their seats in parliament.

However, Damagum said: “Our Party insists that having now vacated and lost their seats, the only option available for the former lawmakers, if they wished 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 line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.

“The 25 former Rivers lawmakers freely and without any cause vacated their seats, being fully aware of the consequences of defection from the Party upon which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly without the conditions stipulated by the 1999 Constitution.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no division in the PDP at the national or any other level for that matter to justify the defection of the 25 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the Party. They therefore vacated their seats for reasons best known to them and cannot return to the House of Assembly without passing through a fresh electoral process in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.

“Moreover, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Ehie O. Edison, officially declared the seat of the defected, now former members, vacant in line with Section 109 (1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The Rivers State House of Assembly, having become Functus Officio on the matter, cannot re-admit the former lawmakers unless through the channel of a fresh election.”

Furthermore, the PDP chairman, while reacting to calls for the party to sanction the FCT minister, said those calling for his  sanction have also done “something wrong” against the party.

“ I have always say this; that as long as you are a member of the PDP there is a time for everything. And let me tell you something. It is not only Wike. There are other people who worked against this party, when we get to that level we will sanction everybody.

“If Wike believes he  is above this party, we will be able to show him that he is not above this party. One thing I am conscious about is that there was never a time, he said he is not a member of this party. The same members of this party that believe he has done something wrong have also done something wrong to the party.”