Majority Leader in the Edo State House of Assembly, Donald Okugbe, (PDP – Akoko-Edo II), and three other lawmakers on Wednesday, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The other lawmakers are Bright Iyamu (PDP – Orhionmwon South II); Richard Edosa (PDP – Oredo West); and Sunday Ojezele (LP – Esan South East).
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By the defection, APC now has 13 members in the House while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members are 11.
The lawmakers, who were received at the APC Secretariat in Benin, by the Acting State Chairman, Jarret Tenebe, cited deep divisions and unresolved crises within their former parties as reasons for their defection.
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Speaking on behalf of the group, Mr Edosa described the move as a “defining moment”.
He said that they believed in the vision of Gov. Monday Okpebholo and were committed to working with him to advance the state’s development.
Welcoming them into the party, Tenebe said that their decision to join APC was a bold step toward a better future for Edo State.
He said that they would enjoy equal rights and privileges like every other member.
The APC chairman praised their courage and noted that their defection strengthened the party’s collective resolve to improve governance, security, and economic development in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was capped with a symbolic handing over of APC brooms to the defecting lawmakers, marking their official entry into the ruling party.
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Arbitrary defection without legal justification in the state and national legislative houses is prohibited by Nigerian law, which has been validated by the Supreme Court.
By law, lawmakers must show that the political party that sponsored their election to the legislative house is so divided that it has been totally dysfunctional. Any defecting lawmaker who fails to meet this condition should automatically lose their seat.
But presiding officers, who are expected to enforce the legal provision, often look away and allow arbitrary defections to pass without repercussion.
As a result of this, such defections without legal basis have festered in various state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly, as the two leading political parties – the APC and the PDP – have been both beneficiaries and victims of such arbitrariness at various times.
(NAN)
