* tells them to prepare for fresh polls
By Chesa Chesa
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared there is no remedy for the 25 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who recently defected to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) to return to their seats except through fresh polls.
This comes against the background of a truce brokered by President Bola Tinubu between the State Governor, Similar Fubara, and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, after their face-off led to the defection of the legislators.
The party insisted on Tuesday that by virtue of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the lawmakers have vacated and lost their seats by reason of defection from the PDP, the Party platform upon which they were elected into the House of Assembly.
The party resolution came at the end of the National Working Committee (NWC) Emergency Meeting on the Political Developments in Rivers State.
A statement issued afterwards by PDP acting national chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum, said the only option available for the former lawmakers, 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.
“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 Rt. Hon (Barr) Ehie O. Edison DSSRS 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.
“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 (INEC) can be stopped from conducting fresh election into the 25 Rivers State Constituencies where vacancies have occurred by reason of their defection.
“For emphasis Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022 is clear in providing that no Courts have powers to stop INEC from conducting elections wherever and whenever a vacancy occurs in any electoral constituency”, the statement said.
The party therefore, demanded that INEC should, in line with Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022, fix a date for the conduct of fresh election into the 25 State Constituencies in Rivers State where vacancies have occurred by reason of the defection of the now former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, pending the determination of any suit in any court.
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