Kwara Assembly Sacks Two APC Lawmakers, Declares Edu, Irepodun Seats Vacant Over Defection To PDP
Kwara Assembly Sacks Two APC Lawmakers, Declares Edu, Irepodun Seats Vacant Over Defection To PDP
The House made the declaration after considering a request by the APC leadership in the state seeking the vacation of the two lawmakers’ seats in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
Ilorin, Kwara State– The kwara State House of Assembly has declared the seats of Hon. Saaba Issa Gedeon, representing Edu Constituency, and Hon. Olusola Odetundun, representing Irepodun Constituency, vacant following their defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The House made the declaration after considering a request by the APC leadership in the state seeking the vacation of the two lawmakers’ seats in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
The request was contained in a letter written by the APC Chairman in Kwara State, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi.
In the letter, Fagbemi argued that the two lawmakers were elected into the House on the platform of the APC and therefore could not defect to another political party while their tenure was still ongoing, particularly as there was no division within the APC.
The APC chairman requested the House to declare the seats vacant, citing Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
The provision deals with the circumstances under which a member of a State House of Assembly may lose his or her seat as a result of defection from the political party on whose platform the member was elected.
Leading the debate on the request, the Leader of the House, Hon. Oba Mogaji, said the matter was fundamentally constitutional and should therefore be treated in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Mogaji referred to Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution, which provides that a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat if, 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 his tenure, except where there is a division in the political party that sponsored his election.
According to him, the two lawmakers were elected on the platform of the APC but had subsequently left the party for the PDP.
He further noted that the lawmakers were not merely defecting to the opposition party but were also seeking reelection to their respective constituencies under the PDP platform.
Mogaji argued that the development amounted to a contravention of the constitutional provision and supported the request for their seats to be declared vacant.
Other lawmakers who contributed to the debate also backed the request.
Those who spoke in favour of declaring the seats vacant included Hon. Abolarin Ganiyu Gabriel, representing Ekiti Constituency; Hon. Ganiyu Folabi, representing Omupo Constituency; and Hon. Adato Oguniyi, representing Ojomu/Balogun Constituency.
The lawmakers supported the position that the two members had voluntarily abandoned the political party on whose platform they were elected and had joined another party despite the absence of any division within the APC.
Following the debate and resolution of the House, the Speaker, Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, formally declared the seats of the two lawmakers vacant.
The declaration means that the Edu Constituency and Irepodun Constituency seats in the Kwara State House of Assembly have become vacant following the defection of Gedeon and Odetundun from the APC to the PDP.
The House said the decision was taken in line with the constitutional provision cited in the APC chairman’s request and supported by members during the debate.
