The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked about 10 members of the Imo State House of Assembly elected on its platform who dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to vacate their seats immediately or face legal action.
The lawmakers defected following the nullification of the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as governor of Imo state by the Supreme Court.
Addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the defectors risked their seats because there was no premise upon which they left as there was no faction or crisis in the PDP.
The party described such action as unpatriotic and an unpardonable betrayal of the people of their respective constituencies who chose and identified with the ideal and visions of the PDP as the platform for their representation at the state assembly.
The PDP said the defectors have shown lack of character, failure of leadership capacity in moments of challenges and absence of faith to stand with the people in their most trying moment.
“The PDP holds that these defectors are fully aware of the grave implication of their actions to the effect that by their defection to the APC, they have automatically lost their seats and membership of the Imo state House of Assembly as they can only hold such position on the mandate of the party on which they were elected; the PDP.
“It is settled under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), that a legislator who decamps from a party upon which he was elected a member of a legislative house automatically losses his or her membership of that house as the seat belongs to the political party upon which platform the election was won and not the individual.
“The vacation of seat, as a direct consequence of decamping to another political party other than the party upon which one was elected to occupy a seat in the legislature, is clear and unambiguous under section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” the party said.
