BREAKING: 2 PDP Reps from Cross River Defect to APC, Give 1 Key Reason
- Nigeria's lead opposition party, PDP, has lost two of its members in the House of Reps to the ruling APC
- The two lawmakers who are from Cross River state announced their defection through a letter read by the Speaker on Tuesday, June 29
- The defectors, Idagbo Ochiglegoor and Michael Etaba claimed their decision was due to the internal crisis in the PDP
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National Assembly, Abuja - Idagbo Ochiglegoor, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Cable reported that Ochiglegoor defected to the ruling party alongside another colleague, Michael Etaba.
Source: Facebook
Both lawmakers are from Cross River state. Ochiglegoor and Etaba represent Obanliku/Obudu/Bekwarra federal constituency and Obubra/Etung federal constituency respectively.
Legit.ng gathers that Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the house, announced their defection on the floor of the green chamber on Tuesday, June 29.
Alleged crisis in the PDP
The lawmakers cited an alleged crisis in the PDP in their state as the reason for dumping the party.
However, Toby Okechukwu, the deputy minority leader, protested the defections and said there is no crisis in the PDP as they claimed.
Okechukwu argued that Ochiglegoor and Etaba ought to lose their seat for defecting from the party, citing section 68 of the constitution to back his claim.
The section explains conditions where a member’s seat could be declared vacant.
However, Gbajabiamila argued that the PDP lawmaker and his colleagues were not in the position to determine the circumstances of the defection, noting that only the court could do that, Daily Trust also reported.
Legit.ng notes that the development comes weeks after Ben Ayade, the governor of Cross River state, dumped the PDP for the APC.
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Zamfara senator resigns from PDP
In a related development, Senator Hassan Mohammad Gusau has announced the resignation of his membership of the PDP.
This was disclosed by Ezrel Tabiowo, the special assistant press to the president of the Senate in a statement sent to Legit.ng.
The lawmaker representing Zamfara Central tendered his resignation in a letter addressed to the president of the Senate and read during the start of plenary on Tuesday, June 29.
Source: Legit.ng
