LP asks court to declare defecting lawmakers’ seats vacant

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

The Labour Party (LP) has initiated legal proceedings against its members who recently defected to other parties, seeking to reclaim their seats.

Five LP members in the house of representatives abandoned the party last week, citing internal conflicts within the party.

Ajang Iliya, a LP lawmaker from Plateau, also defected to the All Progressives Congress, attributing his decision to the party’s leadership crisis.

Obiora Ifoh, the LP’s spokesperson, condemned the defections and took action against the defectors.

Ifoh characterized the defecting lawmakers as individuals who had deliberately abandoned their constituents and the party.

The spokesperson asserted that these lawmakers, having allegedly betrayed their constituents and the party, should relinquish their seats as stipulated by the constitution.

Ifoh added that the lawsuit also seeks the reimbursement of all salaries, benefits, and privileges received by the lawmakers since their defection.

“The Labour Party leadership is dismayed by the news of Mr. Akangbe Illiya’s betrayal of the people of Jos South/Jos East, whom the party and the people of Plateau State had entrusted with their hopes and aspirations.

“Hon. Illiya has brought shame upon himself by his actions, earning a place in the Labour Party’s ‘Hall of Shame’ Register.

“While the constitution guarantees freedom of association, it also qualifies this right in the context of political party membership.

“The law does not protect individuals who deceitfully acquire a mandate and then abandon their party without relinquishing the mandate.”

“This defection, like others before it, is both unfortunate and condemnable.”

“Section 68(g) of the 1999 constitution explicitly outlines the circumstances under which a lawmaker may defect and the consequences of doing so.

“It is unnecessary to speculate why most defectors chose the All Progressives Congress and why the Speaker of the House of Representatives has refused to declare their seats vacant.

“Instead, pity should be reserved for those politicians who have abandoned their constituents at this critical juncture, exposing themselves as unworthy of public trust.

“The Party has initiated legal action to compel the National Assembly leadership to declare the seats of the defected Labour Party lawmakers vacant.

“The lawsuit also seeks the reimbursement of all salaries, benefits, and privileges received by the lawmakers from the date of their defection.”