The Kaduna State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare vacant the seats of three State House of Assembly members and one House of Representatives member who left the party to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP denounced the defections, particularly those of serving legislators elected on its platform, as a violation of the people’s faith in them.
In a statement published by the party’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Maria Dogo, the PDP claimed the lawmakers’ defection to the APC was unacceptable and unconstitutional and asked them to leave their positions immediately.
Citing Sections 68(1)(g) and 109 of the Constitution, which state that serving legislators who defect to another party must vacate their seats, the PDP urged the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Kaduna State House of Assembly to declare the seats of the four lawmakers vacant and notify INEC to conduct bye-elections.
“While we acknowledge the constitutional rights of every Nigerian to freedom of association, we view these defections as unacceptable.
“Consequently, we assure the people of Kaduna State, particularly those from the affected constituencies, that the PDP leadership will invoke the provisions of the constitution to recover our mandates, as there is no division or split in our party leadership at the national level,” the party stated.
The party said it remained unshaken by the defections and also the preferred choice of the vast majority of the people of Kaduna State.
