25 RIVERS ASSEMBLY MEMBERS WHO DEFECTED HAVE LOST THEIR SEATS – FEMI FALANA

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has insisted that members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress have forfeited their positions in the legislative body.

Twenty five lawmakers loyal to the former governor of Rivers State and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had switched to the APC amid the political deadlock between him and Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Falana asserted that the lawmakers would be ousted from their seats for transitioning to the APC.

Seun Okin: Who is the real Speaker?, and from the point of the view of the law, what is your assessment, Mr Falana?

Femi Falana SAN: I think the matter is already in Court. I think a couple of days ago, the High Court sitting in Port Harcourt granted another injunction restraining the 25 lawmakers from parading themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the grounds that they have decamped and thereby for now, forefeited their rights to be legislators.

I also think what will be required of them is to go the Court to join issues. Before now, they were threatening impeachment, of course the Governor was likely to have challenged their locus standi to begin impeachment since there is a law that they have lost their seats.

Frankly speaking, I think they were not properly guided or advised that unless they can show or demonstrate that there is a division in a political party that sponsors your election, you cannot remain in any legislative house if you decamp or cross over to another Party. Because the whole idea is that the Constitution set out to ban or prohibit political prostitution on the part of legislators In Nigeria so as of today, there is a Court order restraining I think 25 of them from parading themselves as legislators in that State and the Speaker from parading himself as such.

That is the law as of today.

So I do hope that those of them who are affected by the order will like to urge the Court to have another look at the case but however, it may be very difficult to persuade the Court to allow them to remain in the legislative house unless they are prepared to go back to the people and have their mandate renewed by the people.

So that is the position of the law nd the Supreme Court has made this clear in the case of Ifedayo Abegunde and Labour Party. You cannot on your own decide that there is a division in the Party and it doesn’t mean a division in the Local Government or in a State, it has to be an issue down the line, at the National level.

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