PDP Chieftain Reacts As 5 National Assembly Members Defect to APC: “Accidental Reps”
- Dare Glintstone Akinniyi, spokesperson for the PDP National Youth Group, has expressed concern over the latest defection of five lawmakers in the National Assembly
- In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, Akinniyi suggested that the lawmakers should be punished for their decision and their seats in the House of Representatives should be declared vacant
- Four Labour Party lawmakers and PDP chieftain Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, the daughter of the former governor of Delta state James Ibori, were the lawmakers that defected to the APC
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Amid permutations for the 2027 general election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Youth Group spokesperson, Dare Glintstone Akinniyi, has criticised the recent defection of top lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
He attributed their decision to personal interests rather than political ideology.
Source: Instagram
Legit.ng recalls that four Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives members left the party to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party said it would instruct its legal team to commence legal actions against the four defectors.
Also, Mrs Ibori-Suenu, the daughter of the former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, announced her defection in a letter addressed to the speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, which was read on the floor of the House on Thursday, December 5, 2024.
In reaction, the PDP declared Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu's seat vacant in the House of Representatives.
Will 5 lawmakers who defected lose their seats?
In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng on Sunday, December 8, Akinniyi emphasized that Nigerian politicians often switch parties based on self-interest, with many lacking a firm political ideology.
Buttressing his point, he criticized the trend of lawmakers defecting to ruling political parties for perceived political security and opportunities for re-election.
Akinniyi pointed out that, under the new electoral act, lawmakers who defect without proving division within their original parties must vacate their seats, leading to the potential for a bye-election.
However, he added that "the appropriate punishment for anyone holding public office via election under a political party should be loss of seat."
The PDP chieftain stated thus:
"We are in a season for political transfers and oftentimes, political actors defect to another party for a perceived political 'security'. For some, it is about their ticket, others want to join the ruling party. An average Nigerian politician lacks ideology and will switch between parties, anytime.
"For these former LP Reps, I think they are confused as to whether their former party will still be formidable by 2027. However, most of them won't get their return ticket automatically. Most of those LP Reps are accidental Reps, they rode on the 'Obi-dents' wave and got a percentage of the goodwill for Peter Obi.
"Going by the new electoral act, unless they can prove that there is a division in their former political party, they will have to vacate that seat and INEC will have to conduct a bye-election to fill up the vacancy.
"Until we have a written rule in our political system or in the constitution that you can't transfer your mandate to another political party, after winning on a different platform; politicians will always move to where they can have their interests covered. But the system allows the switching between parties anytime, for no tangible reasons.
"Except for few political actors in Nigeria, many of them had one time changed party and they will continue to move around for the sake of their personal interests.
"The appropriate punishment for anyone holding public office via election under a political party, should be loss of seat. He or she must vacate such seat when defecting to another political party."
PDP vs APC: Reason people leave their party
Legit.ng earlier reported that some lawmakers' failure to return to the National Assembly has been traced to their inability to be their state governors' preferences.
Reports showed that the defections were rocking the ruling APC and the leading opposition PDP.
In states like Benue, Kebbi, Zamfara, Delta, Ekiti, and Ogun, governors or loyalists defeated incumbent senators and reps members to clinch their parties' tickets.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
