Labour Party drags defected Reps members to Court

By Miracle Ogunde

The recently defected six members of the House of Representatives to the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), have been dragged to court by the Labour Party, LP.

In a statement by its spokesman Obiorah Ifo, the LP described Illiya’s defection to the APC as quite unfortunate and condemnable.

Obiorah said “the party has since filed actions in the court to compel the National Assembly leadership to declare the seats of the defected Labour Party lawmakers vacant. The suit also seeks that every salary, emolument, or privilege received, from the date of defection, be returned”.

While admitting that the “Constitution guarantees citizens the right to freedom of association,” the party said Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution “is emphatic on when to defect and what happens when a lawmaker sponsored by a political party decides to jump ship”.

The party said it “is unnecessary to probe why most of the defectors chose the All Progressives Congress (APC) as their destination point and why the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon Tajudeen Abass has refused to respect the provisions of the constitution by declaring their seats vacant.

“However, those politicians who have chosen to abandon the people at this crucial time in their lives are the ones who deserve pity because they have exposed themselves as unworthy of our collective trust going forward”.

Six members of the House of Representatives left the LP for the APC in about two weeks, citing a leadership crisis in one of Nigeria’s main opposition parties.

Following the defection, the party said it was going to take legal action against the lawmakers.