The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the 25 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to brace themselves for a fresh election. The crisis unfolded on December 11, 2023, when 27 members switched allegiance from the ruling PDP in the state to the APC.
In a press conference following the PDP emergency National Working Committee meeting, the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, cautioned the defected lawmakers against believing assurances in Abuja that they could return to the State House of Assembly without a new election.
Citing Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution, Damagum emphasized that the lawmakers had vacated their seats due to their defection from the PDP. The constitutional provision stipulates that a member of a House of Assembly must vacate their seat if they defect to another political party before the expiration of the term for which the House was elected.
Damagum clarified, “Having vacated their seats, 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 in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022.”
He refuted claims of division within the PDP that could justify the defection and insisted that the former lawmakers could not return to the House without undergoing a fresh electoral process. The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly had officially declared the seats of the defected members vacant in accordance with the Constitution.
Damagum urged the defected lawmakers not to be deceived by false assurances and impracticable hopes in Abuja, emphasizing that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could not be stopped from conducting fresh elections in the 25 constituencies where vacancies had occurred due to defection.
In line with Section 84(15) of the Electoral Act, 2022, Damagum demanded that INEC set a date for the conduct of fresh elections in the 25 constituencies in Rivers State affected by the defections. The PDP remains firm in its stance that the only constitutional and legal pathway for the lawmakers to return is through a new electoral process.