PDP Reps to sue APC defectors

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives on Wednesday threatened to sue Tony Nwoye (PDP-Anambra) and Emmanuel Udende (PDP-Benue) who defected to All Progressives Congress (APC) on the floor of the House.
The two lawmakers through separate letters read by Speaker Yakubu Dogara during the plenary, announced their intentions to dump the party, owing to the factionalisation within the leading opposition party in the country.
The estranged lawmakers alleged that they could no longer serve their electorate effectively owing to the crisis trailing the leadership of PDP at the aborted National Convention of the party in Port Harcourt a fortnight ago.
Ali Modu Sheriff, immediate past PDP acting National Chairman; Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, and Prof. Jerry Gana, are heading the three factions.
While reacting to the decisions of the two lawmakers, Leo Ogor, Minority Leader who issued the threat notice, vowed that the party would ensure that the two lawmakers vacate their seats in the Lower Chamber.
Ogor who described their resignation letters as unconstitutional, argued that Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that any member who must resign on the platform where he/she was elected must declare his/her seat vacant.
“I have told those who care to listen that there is no division in the PDP. Clearly, the PDP is one family, and in line with the Constitution, in line with Section 68g, which I quoted on the floor is
clear on this. We had a national convention, signed by then by Ali Modu-Sheriff, the national chairman.
“The party itself went for that convention in Port-Harcourt and you know that the party convention is the highest organ of the party. It has the power to elect and remove anyone, and we saw the decisions that were taken in Port-Harcourt. And no court of competent jurisdiction has today ruled that there is any faction in PDP. Neither is there any recognised faction.
“There is a Supreme Court ruling on this matter. I pity those young men. They really don’t know what they have done. But for me, I am a
Law-abiding citizen and I can tell you that by tomorrow morning, my party will be headed to court once I have the Order Paper for the day.
“We will be in court to make sure we vacate those seats, then we go for an election to replace those interlopers. They think they can go to APC, so easily but they are wrong. So long as we have a Supreme Court ruling on this matter, I am sure, they are history,” he said.
Ogor who expressed shock over the development, frowned at the decision of the two lawmakers for failing to consult with the PDP caucus before making their decision public on the floor of the House.