The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, on Wednesday, lost yet another member of the House of Representatives, Salisu Koko, representing Koko-Besse/Maiyama Constituency of Kebbi State, to the ruling All Progressives Congress.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
Koko’s defection from the PDP to the APC comes a day after Amos Magaji, representing Zango Kataf/Jaba Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, dumped the PDP for the APC on Thursday.
Koko’s defection brings to four the number of PDP Reps who have dumped the party for the APC in the 10th National Assembly.
Previously, Chris Nkwonta from Abia State and Eriatheke Ibori-Suenu from Delta State had dumped the PDP for the APC.
Announcing Koko’s defection on Wednesday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, told the APC caucus to welcome the Kebbi lawmaker into their fold.
Abbas quoted Koko as attributing his defection to the protracted crisis in the opposition PDP.
The development irked the Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, who raised a point of order, saying that there was no ‘protracted’ crisis in the PDP.
Chinda urged the House to acknowledge the consequences of defection without compliance with the provisions of the Constitution.
Supporting the Minority Leader, Ben Etanabene, amplified what he called the consequences of the defection, which, according to him, was the vacation of the seat being occupied by the lawmaker.
The Speaker, however, overruled the point order, saying that the House had no powers to implement such constitutional provisions.
He, therefore, urged the aggrieved lawmakers to approach the appropriate quarters to address the issue.
The PDP is currently embroiled in multi-level crises, which began ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The crisis escalated on Tuesday with the Abia State chapter of the party suspending the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara.
But the NWC, in a swift reaction, declared Waraba’s suspension illegal, saying the State Working Committee cannot suspend Waraba without recourse to the party’s National Executive Committee.
The party’s leadership is also divided on who should be the authentic National Secretary between Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye.
