The leadership of the Labour Party (LP) has warned that it will pursue legal action against members, particularly lawmakers, who defect to other political parties.
In a statement released on Thursday, the party’s national publicity secretary, Obiorah Ifoh, announced that LP has established a register for members of the House and other elected officials who switch their allegiance to different political parties under the guise of defection.
This statement follows the recent defection of four LP lawmakers in the House of Representatives to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers who defected are Tochukwu Chinedu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Cross River), and Esosa Iyawe (Edo).
Ifoh stated, “The party has also decided to create a ‘Hall of Shame’ register for these lawmakers or any elected official who engages in fraudulent defection without first giving up the mandate they obtained under the party’s ticket. These lawmakers will be prominently featured in the register. We urge Nigerians to be cautious of this type of politician, who lacks a clear democratic ideology and instead follows a ‘Jumpology’ mentality, moving from one party to another without regard for the laws and without any ideological basis.”
He added that while the Labour Party is not discouraged by the defections, the party’s leadership has directed its legal team to take action against the defectors.
According to Ifoh, the process of reclaiming the party’s mandates in accordance with the 1999 Constitution and the amended 2022 Electoral Act will commence against the defectors.
He stated: “The Constitution specifies that if a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party joins another political party before the end of their term, their membership of the new party must not result from a division in their previous party or a merger of political parties or factions that sponsored them.”
He also mentioned that the party will approach the Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare vacant the seats held by these former Labour Party members in accordance with House Rules.
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“It is inappropriate and unacceptable for these lawmakers to continue serving as representatives of their constituencies illegally.”
“Although the Labour Party leadership remains resolute in the face of these defections, it has chosen not to let this matter go unaddressed and has therefore instructed its legal team to initiate legal proceedings against the defectors.”
In July, Ezenwa Onyewuchi, a Labour Party Senator, also defected to the APC, with his defection letter being read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
