PDP Blows Hot Over Ibori-Suenu’s Defection To APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the seat of Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, the Member representing Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has become vacant by virtue of her defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This is contained in a statement signed by National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba in Abuja on Friday.

Ibori-Suenu, daughter of former Delta state governor, James Ibori, announced her defection from the PDP to the APC in a letter addressed to Speaker of the House, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.

In another letter dated Thursday, December 5, addressed to the PDP Chairman of the Ethiope West Council area, Ibori-Suenu explained that her resignation was due to her exclusion by the Delta state chapter of the party.

But in Friday’s statement, the national leadership of the party rejected her defection.

The party called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately commence processes to conduct a fresh election “to fill the Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives which automatically became vacant by reason of the defection of Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu to the All Progressives Congress (APC)”.

The PDD said, “It is settled in law that by her defection from the PDP, the political party platform upon which she was elected into the House of Representatives, Hon. Ibori-Suenu willfully vacated the Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency seat thus rendering it vacant by virtue of the self-executory provision of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“For clarity, Section 68 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that ‘a member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if … (g) 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 the period for which that House was elected…’

“With this unambiguous Constitutional provision and its clear interpretation by the Supreme Court, Hon. Ibori-Suenu has irredeemably lost her seat, rights, privileges, recognition and obligations accruable to a member of the House of Representatives.”

The party said Ibori-Suenu should therefore stop parading herself as a member of the House of Representatives as such would amount to impersonation with likely criminal consequences.

“The PDP calls on the National Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms to note that Hon. Ibori-Suenu has ceased to be a member of the House of Representatives.

“The PDP is communicating to INEC to, within the Constitutionally stipulated time, conduct fresh election to fill the vacancy which now exists in Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency of Delta State as a result of the defection of Hon. Ibori-Suenu to the APC,” the party said.

The PDP also directed the National Legal Adviser to commence appropriate legal action to ensure that the votes and mandate of the people of Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency of Delta State, which they freely gave to the PDP are protected and not appropriated by any person or any other political party under any guise or circumstance whatsoever.

(Sun)