Labour Party drags Reps to court over defection
National Chairman of Labour Party (LP) Julius Abure,
Published By: Ayorinde Oluokun
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
The Labour Party, (LP) said on Friday that it will ask court to declares the seats of six members of the House of Representatives elected on its platform to the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Six Labour Party’s Reps in the House of Representatives had defected to the APC in the past two weeks.
The LP’s Rep members cited division within their party and the need to serve their constituency better as reasons for their defection.
However, LP on Friday condemned the defection of the lawmakers while vowing to seek legal redress over their action in spite of the fact that the “Constitution guarantees citizens the right to freedom of association,”
Obiora Ifoh, the spokesperson for LP revealed this in a statement while describing the action of the lawmakers as “quite unfortunate and condemnable”.
While dismissing the reasons cited by the lawmakers for abandoning the party, the LP’s spokesperson 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”.
- Reps resolute on women empowerment, gender equality – Speaker Abbas
- Plateau Rep member, Fom Chollom, dumps Labour Party for APC
- Lawmaker receives 1,500 defectors to APC in Zamfara
He said the party will ask court to compel the Speaker of House of Representatives to declare the seat of the lawmaker vacant.
Ifo added that the party will also ask the court to compel all the lawmakers to return all the allowances and salaries they have received since they became members of House of Representatives.
“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”.
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”.
