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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Kwara Assembly suspends two lawmakers and declares their seats vacant

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • The Kwara State House of Assembly declared the seats of Saaba Issa Gideon and Olusola Odetundun vacant after their defection from the APC to the PDP.
  • The APC said the lawmakers could not retain their seats because no division within the party justified their move under Section 109(1)(g) of Nigeria’s Constitution.
  • The Kwara PDP rejected the decision as politically motivated and questioned the procedure used by the Assembly.

Kwara’s House of Assembly has declared two lawmakers’ seats vacant after they abandoned the All Progressives Congress for the Peoples Democratic Party, turning a party defection into a constitutional dispute.

The lawmakers, Saaba Issa Gideon and Olusola Odetundun, represent the Edu and Irepodun constituencies. The Assembly acted during Tuesday’s plenary after APC state chairman Sunday Fagbemi asked it to invoke Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

Since the two members were elected under the APC and there is no division within the party, they have no constitutional right to abandon the party for another.

— Sunday FagbemiThe Kwara APC chairman argued that the lawmakers lost the right to retain their seats after defecting.

Fagbemi argued that the two legislators had been elected on the APC platform and could not keep their seats after joining the PDP. He said the constitutional exceptions allowing a legislator to change parties did not apply because there was no division within the APC. “Since the two members were elected under the APC and there is no division within the party, they have no constitutional right to abandon the party for another,” he wrote to Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu.

A member shall not belong to another political party than the one that sponsored him to the House, as long as his tenure has not expired.

— Oba MogajiThe House leader cited the constitutional provision used to support the declaration.

House Leader Oba Mogaji said the Assembly was required to enforce the relevant constitutional provision. He cited the rule that a legislator “shall not belong to another political party than the one that sponsored him to the House, as long as his tenure has not expired.” Mogaji added that the two lawmakers were seeking reelection in 2027 on the PDP ticket. “They have left the APC for the PDP and are seeking reelection for their seats in the opposition party. This contravenes the Constitution,” he said.

Other lawmakers backed the motion, and the speaker declared the seats vacant. The Kwara PDP condemned the move as an attempt to punish the legislators for exercising their political rights. Its state publicity secretary, Olusegun Adewara, also questioned the Assembly’s reliance on a letter from the APC chairman to begin the process.

They have left the APC for the PDP and are seeking reelection for their seats in the opposition party. This contravenes the Constitution.

— Oba MogajiThe House leader said the lawmakers’ plans to seek reelection on the PDP platform violated the Constitution.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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