…Says legislators ‘abandoned’ mandate, vows legal battle
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has intensified its counter-offensive in the raging Rivers State Assembly crisis, announcing plans to invoke constitutional provisions to sack lawmakers who again declared their defection from the party.
Describing the repeated defections as a calculated assault on democratic norms, the PDP said the legislators’ latest move amounted to a brazen violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which bars lawmakers from abandoning the party that sponsored their election—except under specific conditions.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party accused the lawmakers of treating their mandates with reckless disregard, noting that they had defected once before, recanted, and have now repeated the act.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since assuming office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheel of democratic progress,” Ememobong said.
“They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
The PDP dismissed the lawmakers’ latest announcement as nothing more than a shift between factions within the APC, rather than a genuine departure from the PDP.
“The easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” the party stated, insisting that the lawmakers had long abandoned PDP ideals while clinging to its electoral platform.
Ememobong affirmed that the party would now activate constitutional sanctions to reclaim the seats, saying the legislators had “ignobly and surreptitiously” surrendered the mandate entrusted to them.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under our banner,” he said.
Calling for restraint among members, the PDP urged its supporters in Rivers State to stay calm as the party moves to reposition itself despite ongoing political turbulence.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness, and equity,” Ememobong added.
The party stressed that the unfolding power play in Rivers State will not derail its wider reforms ahead of upcoming elections.
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