Leader of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) caucus in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC,
Lagos), has stated that the quest for ticket for the 2019 general elections was
behind the wave of defections that hit the party on Tuesday at the House of
Representatives.
The defection saw 37 members
elected under APC platform dump the party for the opposition Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Addressing newsmen after the
day’s sitting, the APC leader insisted that his party remains the majority in the
House, stressing that the defected members were in desperate search of tickets
for the 2019 general elections.
“I think the bottom line is the
search for ticket; this is an election period when you see politicians jumping
from one party to another.
“I want to say that in spite of
what happened at plenary today, not only that APC remains the majority, but a
clear and overwhelming majority, which leaves APC very strong in the House of
Representatives,” Gbajabiamila stated.
The House Leader, who spoke on
behalf of other APC caucus members, insisted the defectors were still members
of the APC family despite leaving the party, saying they would eventually
return when they realized their mistakes.
He added that the defection was
part of democracy and lauded the remaining members for their commitment and
steadfastness to the party.
On the fate of the defectors,
Gbajabiamila said the position of the law on the issue was very clear going by
Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as the Supreme Court decisions in
the case of Amechi, and PDP v. Adekunle.
He added that the section and
cases in question indicate that it is the political party, not the individual
that is voted into office; just as he said that the seats of the legislators
belongs not to the legislators but to their constituency who elected them.
“Section 68 of the 1999
Constitution has addressed this issue; there are also the Supreme Court
decisions in the case of Amechi and PDP v. Adekunle. These are to the effect
that when you are elected, that seat does not belong to you, it belongs to your
constituency,” the lawmaker noted.
Gbajabiamila further blamed the
defection on lack of ideology in Nigerian political parties, a trend he said
does not obtain in “advanced countries where parties are deeply ideological.”
He continued: “We will encourage
our party to do the needful. We want to build ideology in our political parties
because if we have ideology, you cannot see this kind of cross-carpeting.”
He pledged the loyalty of the APC
caucus to President Muhammadu Buhari and Adams Oshiomhole, saying the members
would continue to do the bidding of the party and their constituents despite
the plot by the “political shenanigans”.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com