Defection: INEC Is Not Going To Declare Reps’ Seats Vacant, Jega Tells PDP, Presidency
Category: Nigeria News
The request by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the presidency to
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the
seats of the 37 members of the House of Representatives, who recently
defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), has met with stiff
resistance from the electoral umpire.
INEC said it was not aware of any such pending requests just as it said it lacked the powers to take such an action.
Making the commission’s position known, INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru
Jega’s Chief Press Secretary, Kayode Idowu, said: “Honestly, I am not
aware of any such letter. I sincerely don’t know anything about it. But
let me also add that it is not the job of INEC to take such a decision.
INEC is not the one to declare seats of elected public office holders
vacant. That is not what the law says and I can tell you that INEC is
not going to do that”.
With the refusal of INEC to declare the reps seats vacant, the battle
might finally be resolved in the court as the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal’s
body language does not suggest he is also going to grant the presidency
or PDP’s requests.
The defection of the federal legislators last week Wednesday saw the
APC take over from PDP as the majority party in the House of
Representatives – a position the ruling party will find unacceptable as
it had controlled both the upper and lower legislative chambers of the
National Assembly since the inception of democracy in 1999.
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