Rivers Assembly crisis: ‘Conduct fresh poll in 27 constituencies’ – PDP to INEC

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately commence the process of conducting fresh elections in the 27 constituencies in Rivers State that have become vacant because of the defections in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

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PDP asserted that by defecting from the party to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the seats of the 27 former lawmakers have become vacant by the provision of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

The party’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the Speaker of the Rivers State House Assembly should “immediately comply with the provisions of the Constitution by declaring the seats of the 27 former lawmakers vacant.”

A statement by Ologunagba reads: “For the avoidance of doubt, Section 109 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly 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.

“By reason of the above Constitutional provision and its clear interpretation by the Supreme Court, the 27 defected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have vacated and lost their seats, rights, privileges, recognition, and obligations accruable to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“In view of the vacancy now existing in the 27 state constituencies in Rivers State, the PDP demands that INEC, within the stipulated period under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), conduct a fresh election to fill the vacancies.

“Our party cautions that the former lawmakers should stop parading themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as such would amount to impersonation with serious criminal consequences.”