Human rights lawyer Demi Falana has insisted that members of the River State House of Assembly who defected from PDP to the APC have forfeited their positions in the legislative body, IgbereTV has learned.
Twenty five lawmakers loyal to the former governor of River State and current Minister of FCT,Nyesom Wike had switched to A PC amid the political deadlock between him and Governor Siminalaye Fubara.
Speaking on Channels Television Sunday Politics, monitored by Punch Newspaper, Falana asserted that the lawmakers would be ousted from their seats for transitioning to the APC.
Citing the constitution, he said “Unless you can show and demonstrate that there is division in political party that sponsored your election,you cannot remain in legislative and if you revamp to another party.
The whole index is that The constitution set out to to ban political prostitution in the part of legislators.
The human right lawyer noted that there is a court order restraining the 25 lawmakers from representing themselves as legislators in the state as well as prohibiting the speaker from identifying himself as the speaker of the house.
“”It may be very difficulty 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.
“The Supreme Court made this clear in the case of Aretunde and the Labour Party,that you cannot decamp and then remain a member of a legislative house in Nigeria unless you can show that there is a division in your party.It doesn’t mean a division in a local government or state it has to be on national level .That is the position of the court.” he said.
The crisis between Fubara and his Godfather,Wike started last year when the Assembly, predominantly composed of Wike’s loyalists,made attempts to impeach the governor.
Subsequently,27 lawmakers aligned with Wike defeated from the ruling PDP in the state APC.
Led by Martin’s Amaewhule,the lawmakers cited internal division st within the POP as the principal motive for their transition to the APC.
