The Labour Party has condemned the defection of its lawmakers in the House of Representatives into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). A move it described as unfortunate.
The Labour Party caucus in the House of Representatives lost four of its members to the ruling All Progressives Congress on Thursday.
National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, said this in a statement in Abuja, on Thursday.
The party spokesman announced that the LP has opened “A Hall of Shame” to accommodate the names of those who have so dishonoured not only the party but the teeming number of supporters who against all odds voted them into office.
According to him, the party will in the coming days approach the Speaker of the House of Representatives for him to declare the seats of the affected lawmakers vacant in line with relevant sections of the constitution.
While expressing the party’s displeasure over what he described as an unfortunate episode, Ifoh said, “The leadership of Labour Party has received with discontentment the news of defection, today of some lawmakers representing the party in the National Assembly to the ruling APC.
“Presently, while some other big parties are swimming in their own political tempest, Labour Party has since moved on having resolved all its challenges.
“It is therefore safe to say that there is absolute peace in the Labour Party.
“Therefore, no one elected on the ticket of the Labour Party has the constitutional protection to decamp from the party along with the party’s mandate.
“For emphasis, you will recall that the leadership of the party in 2022, in line with the party’s manifesto, threw the doors of the party open to all Nigerians who desire to be in the leadership cadre but could not because of the monetisation policies of some of the octopus parties then in existence.”
The party’s Spokesman further said, “The Labour Party thought it wise to percolate power down to the grassroot to serve the intended population rather than allowing power to be exclusively for the urbane and rich few.”
The lawmakers Who left LP for APC are Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), and Iyawe Esosa (Edo).
Similarly, the daughter of former Delta State Governor, Mr James Ibori, Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu, also ended her relationship with the Peoples Democratic Party as she joined the APC.
Confirming the development, Matthew, who represents Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, said the decision to defect to the APC is based on conviction.
Asked if his imminent defection has the backing of his Constituency, Matthew who made history when he won the parliamentary election in 2023 as a commercial motorcycle rider said, “You cannot just work on the decision of the people at the constituency level because you are dealing with people with different levels of understanding.
“I am taking this decision based on conviction. That is why whether you like it or not, there are people within the constituency who are convinced that it (defection) is the right decision for them. There are those who are skeptical waiting for the outcome,” he said.
Their letter of defection to the APC was read on the floor of the Green Chamber by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas on Thursday.
