Headlines
No Remedy for Defected Rivers Lawmakers, INEC Must Conduct Fresh Election to Fill Their Seats, PDP Insists
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says there is no remedy for the 27 members of the Rivers state house of assembly who dumped the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP was reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the political crisis in the Niger Delta state.
On Monday, Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers state, and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), agreed to end the political turmoil between them after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Among the resolutions reached at the meeting, all parties to the crisis in Rivers agreed that all matters instituted in courts should be “immediately” withdrawn, while the 27 lawmakers who defected to the APC should be taken back as members of the assembly.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of the PDP national working committee (NWC), Umar Damagum, acting national chairman of the party, said the defected lawmakers can only return to the Rivers house of assembly through an election.
Citing section 109 (1g) of the constitution, Damagum said there is “no remedy” for the lawmakers who “vacated and lost their seats because of defection from the PDP, the party platform upon which they were elected into the house of assembly”.
“Our Party insists that having now vacated and lost their seats, the only option available for the former lawmakers, if they wish to return to the house of assembly, is to seek fresh nomination and reelection on the platform of any political party of their choice in line with the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022,” he said.
The PDP chairman said the lawmakers “freely and without any cause” vacated their seats, being fully aware of the consequences of defection from the party upon which they were elected.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no division in the PDP at the national or any other level for that matter to justify the defection of the 25 former members of the Rivers state house of assembly from the party,” Damagum said.
“They, therefore, vacated their seats for reasons best known to them and cannot return to the house of assembly without passing through a fresh electoral process.
“Moreover, the speaker of the Rivers state house of assembly Rt. on (Barr) Ehie O. Edison DSSRS officially declared the seat of the defected now former members vacant.
“The Rivers state house of assembly, having become Functus Officio on the matter, cannot re-admit the former lawmakers unless through the channel of a fresh election.”
The PDP asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections in the 27 constituencies to fill the” vacant seats” in the Rivers house of assembly.
In recent weeks, there has been a power tussle between Fubara and Wike, leading to divisions in the state’s political landscape.
The conflict extended to the Rivers house of assembly, polarising the legislature.
Amid the political crisis, some commissioners resigned from Fubara’s cabinet.
TheCable
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
Headlines
ADC Presidential Primary: Hayatu-Deen Alleges Rigging, Withdraws from Results Announcement
One of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, says he will not attend the announcement of the party’s presidential primary election results, citing allegations of widespread vote rigging.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen expressed concern over reports of electoral irregularities from across the country.
The ADC aspirant noted that he witnessed some of the incidents.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps,” the statement read.
The development comes amid keen competition for the ADC presidential ticket involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Hayatu-Deen.
The ADC presidential primary election collation exercise will take place in Abuja. Results are expected from across the nation.
Ahead of the nationwide presidential primary held on Monday, the ADC had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative.
According to him, the party remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also stressed that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
Headlines
You’re Not Different from APC, INEC, Amaechi Slams ADC, Rejects Presidential Primary Results
A former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, described the outcome of the exercise as “concocted results.”
He said he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Governor of Rivers State accused the party of engaging in practices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, the ADC cannot criticize vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by others while allegedly engaging in similar acts during its own primary.
Amaechi added that the development was unacceptable and contrary to the ideals upon which the party was founded.
