Says There Will Soon Be Court Cases
AS the National Assembly finally resumes after the Christmas and New Year holiday, the burning issue of defections in the House of Representatives and possibly in the Senate is expected to further raise political temperatures around the country.
By the last count, the all Progressives Congress (APC) is claiming to have amassed a majority status with 174 members – up from 137, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now trails behind with 171 members, thus losing the majority status.
The game is expected to change this week, as political fireworks resume to determine where the pendulum swings.
But the PDP is seeking judicial intervention to prevent members who have ‘eloped’ from ‘living happily ever after’. Opinions are still divided on whether those elected on the platform of a political party can leave their original platforms with reckless abandon.
One man who has rich experience in political subterfuge is Richard Akinjide SAN, former minister of justice and attorney general of the federation. A chieftain of the PDP, Akinjide said what Nigerians are seeing on the surface is mere political drama.
According to him, politicians themselves are aware of how sensitive their actions are to the sustenance of democracy and would not willingly crash the system.
He said he does not feel threatened by the defections, because you cannot just walk or cross from one party to another without following the law.
“I am not bothered. If you read the Constitution properly, you cannot cross or walk from one party to another without first resigning and vacating your seat. A section that deals with that is very clear in the Constitution. A lot of things you read in the papers or hear in the radio or watch on the television is mere hypes. I have reasons to believe so because very soon, people will go to court to contest it. Those people that said they are crossing have not crossed to anywhere. I am saying this categorically; the Constitution is very clear about it and you cannot change it.
Says There Will Soon Be Court CasesAS the National Assembly finally resumes after the Christmas and New Year holiday, the burning issue of defections in the House of Representatives and possibly in the Senate is expected to further raise political temperatures around the country.
By the last count, the all Progressives Congress (APC) is claiming to have amassed a majority status with 174 members – up from 137, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now trails behind with 171 members, thus losing the majority status.
The game is expected to change this week, as political fireworks resume to determine where the pendulum swings.
But the PDP is seeking judicial intervention to prevent members who have ‘eloped’ from ‘living happily ever after’. Opinions are still divided on whether those elected on the platform of a political party can leave their original platforms with reckless abandon.
One man who has rich experience in political subterfuge is Richard Akinjide SAN, former minister of justice and attorney general of the federation. A chieftain of the PDP, Akinjide said what Nigerians are seeing on the surface is mere political drama.
According to him, politicians themselves are aware of how sensitive their actions are to the sustenance of democracy and would not willingly crash the system.
He said he does not feel threatened by the defections, because you cannot just walk or cross from one party to another without following the law.
“I am not bothered. If you read the Constitution properly, you cannot cross or walk from one party to another without first resigning and vacating your seat. A section that deals with that is very clear in the Constitution. A lot of things you read in the papers or hear in the radio or watch on the television is mere hypes. I have reasons to believe so because very soon, people will go to court to contest it. Those people that said they are crossing have not crossed to anywhere. I am saying this categorically; the Constitution is very clear about it and you cannot change it.
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