The Labour Party (LP) suffered a significant setback yesterday as it lost four of its members in the House of Representatives to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defecting LP lawmakers are Tochukwu Chinedu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Cross River), and Esosa Iyawe (Edo).
Additionally, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of former Delta State governor James Ibori, also left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to join the APC.
In separate letters to the house, the lawmakers cited division within their respective parties due to ongoing leadership crises. They expressed that these internal conflicts were hindering their effectiveness as lawmakers.
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Speaker of the house, Abbas Tajudeen, announced the defections during Thursday’s plenary session after reading the letters.
Minority Whip kicks, wants seats declared vacant
Reacting to the defection, Minority Whip, Ali Isa, coming under point of constitutional order, said the defection was a breach of Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution, urging the speaker to declare their seats vacant.
He said he sympathised with the opposition lawmakers who still defected to the ruling APC despite the hardship the current administration by the ruling party has inflicted on Nigerians.
LP to create “Hall of Shame” register for defectors
Also reacting, the LP condemned the defections, announcing the creation of a “Hall of Shame” register for any lawmaker or elected officer who defects without first relinquishing the mandate obtained under the party’s ticket.
The LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, in a statement, described the defections as unfortunate and condemnable, calling them irrational, untenable, and contrary to democratic principles.
Ifoh said, “These deserters did not win due to their pedigree or financial power, but because of the ticket they ran on and the support of millions of people determined to end the ‘entitlement mentality’ of a few elites.”
“None of them remembered to contribute a kobo to the party during their 18 months in office, neglecting their roots,” he said.
He also announced that the party would petition the Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare vacant the seats of the defecting lawmakers, as their continued stay in office is legally and politically unacceptable.
He said the five lawmakers who will be listed in the “Hall of Shame” are: Senator Francis Ezenwa Onyewuchi (Imo East), Reps Bassey Akiba (Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency), Tochukwu Okere (Owerri Federal Constituency), Donatus Mathew (Kaura Federal Constituency), and Iyawe Esosa (Oredo Federal Constituency).
Daily Trust reports that the defections further reduced the opposition parties’ representation in the House of Representatives. After the 2023 election, opposition parties secured 182 seats in the house, with the PDP winning 118, LP 35, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) 19, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) 5, Social Democratic Party (SDP) 2, African Democratic Congress (ADC) 2, and Young Progressive Party (YPP) 1.
The LP’s defections, along with the earlier death of Ekene Abubakar Adams from Kaduna State, have reduced the party’s representation from 35 to 30. Similarly, the PDP’s representation has dropped from 118 to 115 following the defection of Ibori-Suenu, after Reps Chris Okwonta (Abia) and Sulaiman Abubakar Gumi (Zamfara), both elected on the PDP platform, earlier defected to the APC.
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