The Acting National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding the immediate conduct of bye-elections to fill the 27 seats vacated by lawmakers loyal to Nyesom Wike in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In a letter titled “Demand For Immediate Conduct of Fresh Elections in 27 State Constituencies of Rivers State Which Have Become Vacant Pursuant To Section 109 (1)(g) Of The Constitution,” dated November 13, 2024, Damagum highlighted the unlawful defection of the 27 lawmakers to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023. He stated that, according to constitutional provisions, their defection had caused them to forfeit both their membership in the PDP and their legislative seats.
The letter read in part, “The Leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our Party, the PDP, to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.”
Damagum noted that the PDP had nominated all 32 State House of Assembly candidates in Rivers for the 2023 general election, winning 32 seats in the state assembly. However, just six months after their inauguration in June 2023, 27 of these members defected to APC, violating Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution, which prohibits such defections unless they occur under specific conditions of division or merger, neither of which applied in this case.
He concluded by demanding that INEC fulfill its constitutional duties and initiate the process for conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies created by the defections. The letter also included a list of the 27 lawmakers and their constituencies.
Damagum expressed his appreciation for INEC’s commitment to deepening democracy in Nigeria and urged the commission to act swiftly in addressing the issue.
