Nigeria : 37 PDP House of Reps Members Defect to APC

22 senators set to follow suit Court restrains Tukur, Mark from declaring seats vacant Atiku to consult associates before deciding on joining party By Chuks Okocha, Muhammad Bello and Omololu Ogunmade The political crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues to take a toll on the party as 37 House of Representatives members of the PDP Wednesday announced their defection to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC). As the lawmakers in the lower chamber pledged their loyalty to APC, 22 of their colleagues in the Senate are preparing to do the same. In order to pave the way for their defection, 79 of the lawmakers have obtained an order from the Federal High Court, Abuja, restraining the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, Senate President David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from declaring their seats vacant when they eventually defect to another political party. However, it was not just in the National Assembly PDP saw its dominance weakened, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a stalwart of the party, met with the APC leadership yesterday and announced that he would consult with his associates before deciding whether to join the opposition party or not. The latest defecting House legislators who are from Kano, Sokoto, Rivers, Kwara, Bauchi and Katsina joined their colleagues to reduce the strength of the ruling PDP in the lower chamber. With the defection of the 37 legislators, the APC now has 174 members up from 137, while the PDP lawmakers have shrunken in number from 208 to 171. It is believed that once the shift is complete and more PDP members defect, there will be a change in the composition of the House leadership, a move already favoured by some APC members. However, the APC is yet to attain a simple majority in the House, as it requires 181 members. The defectors transmitted their decision to the House via a letter they jointly wrote, which was read at plenary by the Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. According to the legislators, who cited relevant sections of the constitution, which empowers them to relocate from the party on which platform they gained membership, they explained that they quit the PDP because of the crisis that has rocked the party in recent times. In a related development, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has Tukur, Mark, Tambuwal and INEC from declaring the seats of the National Assembly members vacant when they eventually defect to APC. The move is preparatory to the planned defection of 22 senators. However, the senators are yet to formally write the senate president as required by Senate Standing Rules on their decision to defect from PDP. Yesterday’s court order, which was issued by Justice A.R. Mohammed and obtained by THISDAY, said the decision was sequel to a motion filed by 79 lawmakers in the National Assembly, including 22 senators, seeking an order restraining the defendants from declaring their seats vacant. The order reads: “The second and third defendants should be asked to maintain status quo on any proposed deliberation to declare the seats of the affected and interested plaintiffs vacant, at least, pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs’ motion for interculotory injunction. “It is directed that the parties and in particular the second and third defendants shall maintain the status quo on any proposed deliberation to declare the seats of the affected/interested plaintiffs in this suit vacant, pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs’ motion for interlocutory injunction already served on them.” The judge consequently fixed January 22 for hearing on the matter. The 22 senators named as plaintiffs in the case are Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), Bello Gwarzo (Kano North), Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Senator Magnus Abe (River South-east), Wilson Ake (Rivers West), Senator Shaba Lafiagi (Kwara North), Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Aisha Alhassan (Taraba North), Ali Ndume (Borno South), Ahmed Zannah (Borno Central) and Simeon Ajibola (Kwara South). Others are Bindowo Jubrilla (Adamawa North), Abdulaziz Usman (Jigawa North-east), Danladi Sankara (Jigawa North-west)), Abdulmumuni Hassan (Jigawa South-west), Hassan Barata (Adamawa South), Umaru Dahiru (Sokoto South), Ahmad Maccido (Sokoto North), Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East), Garba Mohammed (Kano Central), Isa Galaudu (Kebbi North) and Ahmed Alkali (Gombe North). Some of the senators listed as plaintiffs in the matter had earlier dissociated themselves from the defection plan, saying their names were only written among aggrieved senators because governors of their states were at the forefront of the plan to defect. Those in this category include Ajibola. On the other hand, others such as Hassan have said though they believe in the course of other senators in this camp, they would rather stay back in PDP to fight perceived injustice instead of defecting to another party. continued