The Peoples Democratic Party has asserted complete control of Rivers State, claiming that Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his party now rule the state’s political scene. overlay-clevercloseLogo The revelation was made in a statement issued on Saturday by the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.
The party stated that all legislators who defected to the All Progressives Congress had given up their seats, citing constitutional constraints.
On Tuesday, the Rivers State Government rejected a request by the state’s APC Caretaker Committee to initiate impeachment procedures against Fubara in the state House of Assembly.
Ologunagba emphasised that legal reasons now heavily support the PDP, characterising the APC’s allegations as pointless attempts to undermine Nigeria’s constitution.
As stated, “It is indeed pathetic for the APC to believe that the facts and true import of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, 1999 (as amended), which states that former lawmakers have since lost their seats, can be muddled and lost in litigation and lengthy press statements.
“Interestingly, in its fruitless attempt to undermine the Constitution in order to provide a lifeline to former Rivers State House of Assembly members, the APC ended up conceding the clarity of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in voiding their seats upon their defection.
To avoid confusion, Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution states unequivocally that “a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if, 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: “
Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”
Ologunagba stated that all House of Assembly members who joined the APC had since left the party. He encouraged the APC and legislators to give up any dreams of their party gaining control of Rivers State.
“For reasons best known to them, the former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly voluntarily vacated and were summarily removed from their seats, as nothing in the proviso protects or allows them to retain their membership in the Rivers State House of Assembly after decamping from the political party for which they were elected.
These former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly can only blame themselves for constitutionally abandoning their seats, which cannot be overturned or repaired. They should recognise their error and accept the inevitable consequences.
“This is especially true given that the Supreme Court, in the case of Abegunde vs Ondo State House of Assembly and Others, has since clarified and affirmed the import of the proviso in Section 109(1)(g) in validating the automatic vacation of a seat by a Legislative House member who defected from the Party for which he was elected.
For the third time, the PDP warns the APC to stay out of Rivers State; it should abandon all notions of forcibly taking over the state and quit irritating the public by attempting to reverse the irreversible.
The APC should accept that, with the vacation of seats by former lawmakers, the quorum of the Rivers State House of Assembly will be determined by the number of remaining lawmakers as provided by law, until a bye-election is held to fill the vacancies now existing in the Rivers State House of Assembly as a result of the former members’ defection,” Ologunagba added.
Despite the numerous issues plaguing the Rivers State political structure, the APC claimed on Friday that Fubara’s “egregious actions” are indicative of his impeachment proceedings.