…Lawmakers Who Betray Constituents Must Forfeit Seats

By John Alachenu

The Labour Party (LP) has announced its decision to pursue legal action to reclaim seats forfeited by six members of the House of Representatives who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the past week.

The party maintains that these legislators, who it alleges have unjustly betrayed their constituents and the platform that secured their election, should lose their seats as mandated by the Constitution.

In an official response to the defection of Hon. Akangbe Illiya, the representative for Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, condemned the action and reaffirmed the party’s stance.

Ifoh stated, “Hon. Illiya, who has now engraved his name in the Labour Party’s ‘Hall of Shame,’ has brought dishonor upon himself with this act. While the Constitution guarantees freedom of association, this right is qualified concerning political party membership.”

He emphasized that the law does not protect those who, after obtaining a mandate under one party, defect to another without first relinquishing their mandate.

Citing Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution, Ifoh highlighted its clear provisions regarding defection and the consequences for lawmakers who abandon their sponsoring party. He criticized the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abass, for not declaring the defectors’ seats vacant in line with constitutional provisions.

Ifoh added, “These defections are unfortunate and condemnable. Politicians who abandon their constituents during critical times expose themselves as untrustworthy and undeserving of future public confidence.”

The Labour Party has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the National Assembly leadership to declare the defectors’ seats vacant. The suit also demands the return of all salaries, emoluments, and privileges received by the lawmakers since their defection.

The party reiterated its commitment to holding public officeholders accountable to the mandates they were elected to serve and protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s political system.