Seats of two lawmakers declared vacant in Kwara State after switch to PDP
The Kwara State House of Assembly in Nigeria declared the seats of Saba Gideon, who represented the Edu constituency, and Olusola Odetundun of the Irepodun constituency vacant. The decision was made after both lawmakers left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Letter from the APC chairman
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, the chairman of the APC chapter in the state, Sunday Fagbemi, wrote to the Speaker of the House, Salihu Yakubu-Danladi. In the letter, he asked that the lawmakers' seats be declared vacant, citing provisions of Nigeria's 1999 Constitution.
The letter stated that both politicians were elected on the APC platform and that there was no split within the party itself. The party leadership believed that under such circumstances, the lawmakers had no constitutional grounds to switch to another political force before the end of their term.
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Debate in the House
During the debate, House Leader AbdulKadir Magaji said that Article 109(1)(g) of the Constitution stipulates that a member of the House may not belong to a party other than the one on whose platform they were elected before the end of their term. He also noted that Gideon and Odetundun had joined the PDP and seek re-election on the opposition party's platform.
Lawmakers Abolarin Gabriel of the Ekiti constituency, Ganiu Salahu of the Omupo constituency, and Oguniyi Seun of the Ojoju-Balogun constituency supported the demand to declare the seats vacant. Following the debate, Speaker Yakubu-Danladi officially declared the seats of the two lawmakers vacant.
