Bassey Akiba, Ibori’s Daughter and Three Labour Party Lawmakers Defect to APC… Defection Unconstitutional - LP
By Missang AKPET
Four members of the House of Representatives including member representing Calabar Municipality/Odukpani federal constituency Hon. Bassey Akiba have officially left the Labour Party (LP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the floor of the green chamber.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas announced the defections during Thursday’s plenary session.
The lawmakers who defected are: Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Federal Constituency, Imo State, Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency, Kaduna State), Bassey Akiba (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Federal Constituency, Cross River State), Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency, Edo State) and Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu, representing Ethiope Federal Constituency in Delta State who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.
The defectors cited internal crises within their Parties as the reason for their decision.
The Speaker Tajudeen Abbas commended their move, describing it as “the right decision.”
Meanwhile, the National Executive Council of the Labour Party (LP), has described the defection as unfortunate and unconstitutional.
The party's spokesman Obiora Ifoh announced that the LP has opened “A Hall of Shame” to accommodate the names of those who have so dishonoured not only the party but the teeming number of supporters who against all odds voted them into office.
According to him, the party will in the coming days approach the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for him to declare the seats of the affected lawmakers vacant in line with relevant sections of the constitution.
While expressing the party’s displeasure over what he described as an unfortunate episode, Ifoh said, “The leadership of Labour Party has received with discontentment the news of defection, today of some lawmakers representing the party in the National Assembly to the ruling APC.
“The defection, to us, is quite unfortunate and we condemn the action which is irrational, untenable, inconsistent and alien to all known norms for which democracy stands for”.
