PDP Calls on INEC to Declare Defector Lawmakers’ Seats Vacant

The Kaduna State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the seats of four lawmakers who defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC) as vacant.

The PDP condemned the defections, labelling them a “brazen betrayal of the trust” placed in these lawmakers by the people.

In a statement, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Maria Dogo, emphasized that the defections, which involve three members from the State House of Assembly and one from the House of Representatives, are “unacceptable and unconstitutional.”

Referencing Sections 68(1)(g) and 109 of the Constitution, the PDP argues that legislators who defect to another party must vacate their seats.

Consequently, the party is calling on the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Kaduna State House of Assembly to declare the seats vacant and notify INEC to conduct by-elections.

The PDP reassured the people of Kaduna State that it will invoke constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandates, stressing that there is no division or split in the party’s national leadership.

“Despite these defections, the party remains confident that it is the preferred choice of the majority of the people in Kaduna State,” the statement concludes.