• He has entered hall of shame register – Party
From Ndubuisi Orji and Idu Jude, Abuja
There was commotion in the House of Representatives yesterday, as member of the Labour Party (LP), Plateau State, Alfred Iliya, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Iliya, who represents Jos South/ Jos East of Plateau State, announced his defection, in a letter to the House, read at plenary by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.
His notice of defection, however, led to a commotion in the chamber, as members of the opposition and ruling parties squared it up, with each group citing different sections of the 1999 Constitution to support their position.
He is the seventh member of the opposition and sixth member of the LP to defect to the APC in the last one week.
Six members of the minority caucus, including Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Delta State governor, James Ibori, defected between December 5 and 10.
Indications that Iliya’s defection was going to generate concern emerged when the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, refused to second a motion for the admission of Senator Simon Lalong into the chamber. Lalong was in the House on Tuesday to witness the defection of a LP from Plateau State.
Chinda, while reacting to the defection of Iliya, urged the House to reject his notice of defection, stating that he was yet to take the appropriate steps as enshrined in Section 68(1) (g) of the Constitution.
“I will want to pray again, let it be on record that we are putting the cart before the horse. The condition has not been fulfilled for us to even accept the letter that you read. I will, therefore, pray this House to reject this letter and advise our colleagues to take appropriate steps.
“We believe that the Constitution gives you a right of association. However, you must be prepared to follow the procedure and also bear the consequence of your choice. I pray that you ignore the letter in its totality.”
However, chairman House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi, said Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution gives an individual the right of association. Gagdi noted that this is especially when there is a leadership crisis in a political party.
“If you look at the Constitution regarding freedom of association, section 40 equally mandates anybody to be free to associate with any political party.”
Nevertheless, an opposition member from Akwa Ibom, Mark Esset, challenged the defecting member to prove that there was a crisis in the LP.
Esset also cautioned Gagdi against quoting the Constitution out of context. “When we stand up to speak, we must state the fact and prove to the people that we are lawmakers not lawbreakers. The Constitutional provisions are well stated. What my friend and colleague, Gagdi quoted is out of context. This is not an association. A political party member was elected, what does the law say? Prove that there is a crisis. In the Labour Party, as far as I am concerned, there is no crisis.”
Meanwhile, the party has vowed to approach the Court to declare the seats of the defecting members of parliament vacant.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh, said it would do everything legally possible to retrieve its mandate from Illiya and the defectors.
“Hon. Illiya, who just engraved his name on the Labour Party ‘Hall of Shame’ register has brought dishonor to himself through this action.
While it is true that the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to freedom of association, the Constitution qualifies such rights regarding the membership of political parties.
The statement read in part: “The law does not protect an individual who steals the mandate of a people and a political party to run into another without first surrendering the mandate he deceitfully acquired.
“This defection, like similar ones before, is quite unfortunate and condemnable. Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution is emphatic on when to defect and what happens when a lawmaker sponsored by a political party decides to jump ship.
“It is unnecessary to probe why most of the defectors chose the All Progressives Congress (APC) as their destination point and why the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abass, has refused to respect the provisions of the constitution by declaring their seats vacant.
“However, those politicians who have chosen to abandon the people at this crucial time in their lives are the ones who deserve pity because they have exposed themselves as unworthy of our collective trust going forward.
“The Party has since filed actions in the court to compel the National Assembly leadership to declare the seats of the defected Labour Party lawmakers vacant. The suit also seeks that every salary, emolument or privilege received from the date of defection be returned.”