Elumelu loses bid to have seat of defecting lawmaker declared vacant

Minority leader in the House of Representatives Ndudi Elumelu on Tuesday called on the House Speaker to declare the seat of Rep Hernan Hembe vacant after Hembe defected.

Hembe, of All Progressives Grand Alliance, Benue, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, citing wranglings with APGA.

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Hembe, in a letter read on the floor of the house, said he joined APC from his ward in August and has been involved in the activities of the party since then.

However, Elumelu called the defection illegal.

“By the grace of God, I am the Minority Leader of this House. I am not aware that there is a crisis in APGA and so, what he has done is illegal and the Speaker should declare his seat vacant. We are going to contest this,” Elumelu said.

But the Deputy Speaker Ahmed Wase, who presided over the plenary, dismissed Elumelu’s claim and calls saying that, the crisis in APGA in Anambra state is enough reason for the lawmaker or any other APGA member to defect.