The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared the
seat of the member representing Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency
in the House of Representatives, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, vacant.
The PDP declared
her seat vacant following her defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party also called on the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately commence the process of conducting a
fresh election to fill the seat.
The defection of
Erhiatake, the daughter of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, was
announced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen
Abbas , during plenary on Thursday.
She cited issues within the PDP leadership as the
reason for her defection.
However, the PDP, while reacting in a statement on
Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba ,
said Ibori-Suenu should stop parading herself as a member of the House of
Representatives as such would amount to impersonation with likely criminal
consequences.
The party said its position is backed by the country’s
constitution.
The statement reads:“The Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) demands that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
immediately commence processes to conduct a fresh election to fill the Federal
Constituency seat in the House of Representatives which automatically became
vacant by reason of the defection of Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu to the All
Progressives Congress (APC).
“It is settled in law that by her defection from the
PDP, the political Party platform upon which she was elected into the House of
Representatives, Hon. Ibori-Suenu willfully vacated the Ethiope East/Ethiope
West Federal Constituency seat thus rendering it vacant by virtue of the
self-executory provision of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“For clarity, Section 68 (1) of the 1999 Constitution
provides that “a member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall vacate
his seat in the House of which he is a member if … (g) being a person whose
election to the House was sponsored by a political Party, he becomes a member
of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that
House was elected…”
“With this unambiguous Constitutional provision and
its clear interpretation by the Supreme Court, Hon. Ibori-Suenu has
irredeemably lost her seat, rights, privileges, recognition and obligations
accruable to a member of the House of Representatives.
“Hon. Ibori-Suenu should therefore stop parading
herself as a member of the House of Representatives as such would amount to
impersonation with likely criminal consequences. The PDP calls on the National
Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms to note that Hon. Ibori-Suenu has ceased to be a
member of the House of Representatives.
“The PDP is communicating to INEC to, within the
Constitutionally stipulated time, conduct fresh election to fill the vacancy
which now exists in Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency of Delta
State as a result of the defection of Hon. Ibori-Suenu to the APC.
“The PDP also directs the National Legal Adviser to
commence appropriate legal action to ensure that the votes and mandate of the
people of Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency of Delta State, which
they freely gave to the PDP are protected and not appropriated by any person or
any other political party under any guise or circumstance whatsoever.”
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