POLITICS
PDP Mocks APC, Insists Defected 27 Rivers Lawmakers Have Lost Their Seats
By Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the 17 Rivers lawmakers who defected from the PDP had lost their membership of state House of Assembly.The PDP said in a statement by its Spokesman, Hon.
Debo Ologunagba, that the manipulative plots by the APC to force itself into government in Rivers State against the will of the people is a “futile venture which will remain a mirage. ”Ologunagba said, “It is indeed pathetic for the APC to think that the facts and true import of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to the effect that the former lawmakers have since lost their seats can be muddled and lost in litigations and lengthy press statements.”Interestingly, in the failed bid to subvert the Constitution to give the former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly a lifeline, the APC ended up admitting the clarity of the proviso of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in voiding their seats upon their defection.”For the avoidance of doubt, Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution is clear in providing that a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if – being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before expiration of the period for which that House was elected:“Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”He said the former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, for reasons best known to them, wittingly vacated and summarily lost their seats as nothing in the proviso protects or allows them to retain their membership of the Rivers State House of Assembly after decamping from the political party upon which they were elected.He said those former members have themselves to blame for constitutionally vacating their seats; a course which cannot be reversed or remedied, adding that they should admit their miscalculation and bear the inescapable consequences.”This is especially so as the Supreme Court, in the case of Abegunde vs Ondo State House of Assembly and Others, has since clarified and affirmed the import of the proviso in Section 109(1)(g) in validating the automatic vacation of a seat by a member of a Legislative House who defected from the party upon which he was elected into that House,” the PDP spokesman said.He said the APC should steer clear of Rivers State and perish the thoughts of forcefully taking over the state and stop seeking to reverse the irreversible.
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Dr Nnanna Uzor Kalu as a commissioner in the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) to represent the South-East geopolitical zone.
The confirmation followed the presentation and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, chaired by Sen.
Cyril Fasuyi, during plenary.Kalu’s confirmation was previously stepped down in March due to a petition filed against him.
At the time, the senate had confirmed 12 out of 13 nominees for the NASC, withholding only the nomination from the South-East pending resolution of the matter.
Presenting the report, Fasuyi explained that the petition had been thoroughly investigated and dismissed by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions.
The committee found no grounds to disqualify the nominee.
“In line with the findings and recommendations of the relevant committees, the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service recommends the confirmation of Dr Nnanna Uzor Kalu,” Fasuyi said.
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio thanked both committees for handling the issue with diligence and fairness.
He congratulated Kalu on his confirmation and urged him to serve with integrity.
“I urge the newly confirmed commissioner to uphold equity, fairness, and constitutional values while representing the South-East in the commission,” Akpabio said.(NAN)
The Zamfara chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the calls for violence by the State Women Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hajiya Rabi Madawaki.
In a statement issued in Gusau on Tuesday by the State APC Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris, the party called on security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Idris said, “We call on the security agencies to immediately arrest the women leader, Hajiya Rabi Madawaki, over her uncultured utterances.
.“APC as a strong opposition party in the state will not be intimidated by any threats from the Zamfara PDP government and they should know that the will of the people must prevail.
“The state PDP Women Leader, Hajiya Rabi Madawaki, made the statement in the presence of the Governor’s wife, Hajiya Huriyya Dauda.
“The threat and intimidation by the PDP women leader came out with a completely different but savage way of forcing out support and subsequently, votes for the governor, Mr Dauda Lawal in the 2027 governorship election.
“Madawaki said in the presence of governor’s wife in Hausa language, at a gathering held in Gusau on Friday that translated as ‘anyone who does not vote for Dauda, we will maim, beat, kill him, (zamu ci ubanshi zamu yi mashi duka)’.
According to him, in a civilised scoiety, elections are always supposed to be free, fair and non violent.
Idris said, “President Bola Tinubu’s administration is trying to remove such threats to lives and property as well as any form of intimidation from politics.
“The Zamfara chapter of the APC will not be scared by any form of intimidation and harassment or any act of violence.” (NAN)
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
A Youth Leader from Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Alhaji Letugbene has called on stakeholders in Ekeremor and Sagbama Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State to close ranks and work together to return the Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Seriake Dickson to the National Assembly come 2027.
Letugbene, who made the call recently said, Senator Dickson has performed creditably since he was elected and should be supported by all to continue his good work in the Senate, as there is no doubt in his political experience and leadership abilities and competence. He particularly, appealed to the stakeholders and people of Ekeremor to rally round Senator Dickson because he remains the only and best option for the people of Bayelsa West who are clamouring for true representation.”I want to call on my people in Ekeremor to join us to work together to return Senator Seriake Dickson back to the Senate in 2027.He has done well since he was elected and I’m convinced he will even do better for us” he said.According to him, Senator Dickson deserves the support of Ekeremor because he has impacted every community, noting that as a two-term governor, he cited several key projects in the LGA and appointed sons and daughters into key positions of trust, while as a federal lawmaker, he continues to impact the people positively.Letugbene, who is the National Vice Chairman of the Third Phase of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), also asserted, that Senator Dickson has taken the gauntlet left by the late Ijaw leader, Pa Edwin Clark, to face fire for the Ijaw Nation when it mattered most, noting that he stood his ground against intimidation and oppression to speak truth to power when issues affecting his people are on the front burner in the Red Chamber.He said Senator Dickson has remained vocal, courageous and fearless in the National Assembly, condemning the marginalization and oppression of the Ijaw Nation as well as other ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, while demanding equity, fairness and justice for the people.Letugbene, however, bemoaned the actions of a few misguided stakeholders from Ekeremor who are whipping up sentiments against Senator Dickson through propaganda and claims that Sagbama is marginalizing Ekeremor over the Senate seat, urging them not to spread falsehood as the zoning formula in the area no longer existed and that anyone is free from either LGAs to contest the Senate and House of Representatives election in 2027.The ex-agitator, who passed a ‘vote of confidence’ on Senator Dickson, also enjoined beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme from Ekeremor LGA to support the federal lawmaker because of his assertive and unwavering commitment to the upliftment and betterment of Bayelsa West, the Ijaw people and the Niger Delta in the Nigerian Federation.
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