Umar Damagun, the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant seats of 27 lawmakers from Rivers State who recently defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Damagun formalized his request in a letter to INEC dated November 13, 2024, which was disclosed by Ikenga Ugochinyere, spokesperson for the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, during a press conference in Akokwa, Imo State, on Sunday.
The letter, titled “REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE FRESH ELECTION IN 27 RIVERS STATE CONSTITUENCIES NOW VACANT AS PER SECTION 109(1)(g) OF THE CONSTITUTION,” condemned the December 11, 2023 defection of the 27 lawmakers from the Rivers State House of Assembly, labeling it an illegal act.
Damagun argued that, according to Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, the lawmakers’ shift to the APC disqualified them from continuing as members of the Assembly.
He called on INEC to fulfill its constitutional responsibility by initiating fresh elections to fill the vacancies created by the defections, stressing that the move violated constitutional provisions, as there were no valid grounds for such actions within the PDP.
In his letter, Damagun reminded INEC of the party’s prior nominations for the 2023 Rivers State House of Assembly elections, in which the PDP won 32 seats. However, he noted that only six months after their inauguration in June 2023, 27 of these lawmakers publicly declared their allegiance to the APC.
The letter stated, “The leadership of our esteemed party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), wishes to highlight the gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, as 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly unlawfully defected from our party, which sponsored their elections, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023.”
Damagun continued, “The Commission may recall that the PDP nominated all 32 of our candidates for the Rivers State House of Assembly elections on July 7, 2022, via your electronic candidate nomination portal. Following this nomination, elections were conducted on March 18, 2023, resulting in our party winning all 32 seats, with the members sworn in on June 2023.”
He added, “However, just six months later, on December 11, 2023, 27 of the 32 members publicly announced their defection to the APC, which constitutes a serious violation of the Constitution.”
Damagun emphasized that since the only grounds allowing such defections—division and merger—were absent within the PDP, the lawmakers’ actions were unjustifiable, leading to their automatic vacancy of seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
He concluded the letter by urging INEC to perform its constitutional duties and initiate the process for conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies caused by the lawmakers’ unlawful actions, including a list of the 27 members and their constituencies.
