A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke, has said 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot convince Nigerians that they never cross-carpeted.
He stated that the lawmakers, led by Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule and loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, cannot deny dumping the PDP for the APC.
Nwuke, who spoke to LEADERSHIP in a chat in Port Harcourt yesterday, accused the embattled lawmakers of acting ‘a drama sketch that was written by poor writers’.
The former lawmaker said the pro-Wike lawmakers lost their seats in the State House of Assembly, after defecting from the PDP to the APC, since there was no division or crisis within the political party on whose platform they were elected.
He said: “The point is that what you see play out before us is like a drama sketch; a sketch by poor writers. Now, how can anyone living in Nigeria or living in Rivers State say there was no declaration of the 27 lawmakers for the APC.
“In the hallowed chambers, we saw them waving flags signing “On the mandate, on the mandate we shall stand. Jagaban”. It is on record, it is on video even on social media. It has gone viral. So, what these men are saying now is that all that we saw was a mere illusion; that it didn’t happen. That they are lawmakers of the PDP.
“So, you ask yourself, on what basis did the people who went to court to go court; over nothing? Over mere suspicion? It doesn’t make sense. The law said you cannot place something on nothing. So, nobody would have gone to court if these youngsters who are lawmakers today did not activate the process of moving from one party to the other in total disregard for constitutional provisions.
“The constitution says safe for division and I believe that that will be a sharp division, no one is entitled under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to move from one party platform to another. Section 109 (1)(g) clearly states what will happen. We have plethora of decisions taken by courts, including the Supreme Court.”
