The Kwara State House of Assembly has declared the seats of two lawmakers, Saba Yisa Gideon of Edu Constituency and Olusola Odetundun of Irepodun Constituency, vacant following their defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The development followed a letter from the APC State Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, addressed to the Speaker of the House, Salihu Yakubu Danladi, requesting the vacation of the seats in accordance with Section 109 (1g) (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
The letter explained that since the two members were elected under the APC and there was no division within the party, they have no constitutional right to abandon the party for another.
Leading the debate on the request, the Leader of the House, Abdulkadir Oba Magaji, emphasized that the matter is constitutional, as outlined in Section 109 (1g) of the Constitution, which stipulates that a member shall not leave for another party other than the one on which platform he was elected, as long as his tenure has not yet expired.
