Foremost constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana, said the
members of the Rivers State House of Assembly whose seats were declared vacant
were inexposed to sound legal advice.
Falana stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s
Politics Today on Wednesday.
He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
is required by law to conduct elections for the seats of the lawmakers.
He said, “The legislators were not exposed to sound legal
advice. Everybody should know that once the Supreme Court has made a
pronouncement on a matter in any country, you’re bound to comply, and if you’re
going to take any decision, you must study the judgement critically.
“Just yesterday, 20 legislators who defected from the
People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, had
their seats declared vacant by the court. That’s the law; unless the Supreme
Court decides to change it, that is the law in Nigeria today.
“It’s also a good development; it’s a good law; it’s a good
interpretation that there should be no political prostitution in the country,
because it’s tountamount to political immorality if you vote on the platform of
a political party and you abandon the party; you’re advised to go and try your
luck by contesting again under the new political party,” he said.
Recall that the Rivers State House of Assembly has declared
the seats of the 27 members who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic
Party the All Progressives Congress vacant.
The 27 lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal
Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, defected from the party recently amid moves to
impeach the state governor, Sim Fubara.
The affected lawmakers were not present at the sitting where
their seats were declared vacant.
The four-member Assembly, led by factional Speaker Edison
Ehie, loyal to the state governor, on Wednesday, said the decision to declare
the seats vacant was in line with Section 109 (1) (g) and 2 of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The Speaker, who read the names of the lawmakers affected,
called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct fresh
elections within the time frame provided by law.to fill the positions.
“Distinguished
colleagues, the House will duly inform the Independent National Electoral
Commission of the vacancies in the Rivers State House of Assembly and indeed,
to conduct a fresh election to fill the above vacancies,” he declared.
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