Television Nigerian

Delta State’s Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency is represented by Hon. Benedict Etanabene, who has urged four MPs who recently switched from the Labour Party (LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to resign from their National Assembly seats.
Etanabene maintained that the law regarding party defection is unambiguous and emphasized that parliamentarians shouldn’t require any convincing to resign their positions.

According to reports, Etanabene’s comments come after four LP lawmakers defected: Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani constituency), Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency of Edo).

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen publicly announced their departure on Thursday on the House of Representatives floor.

“You were voted into office by this party and you’re now there, you now see the need to jump to another party,” Etanabene said in response to the news on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“There is no need to explain that topic. They ought to have just packed up their belongings and departed from the gathering. That’s the reality.

That is the law’s provision. The purpose of this law’s drafting was to prevent circumstances such as these. However, I can assure you that it does occur occasionally and is legal in this nation.

According to Nigerian law, a lawmaker can only change parties without losing their position if there is a nationwide split within their old party, Etanabene clarified.

He emphasized that Julius Abure is currently leading the Labour Party, a position that the court has confirmed.

Read Also: Kwankwaso’s Expulsion: NNPP reaffirms decision, cautions against blackmail

If not, it’s obvious. You cannot abandon the party that put you in office by joining another one if there isn’t a national party split. It’s obvious. The division of the party must be determined by the court; speculating or assuming a division is not within anyone’s whims.

Even during the clashes a few months ago, the Nigerian court ruled that the National Working Committee (NWC), chaired by Julius Abure, is the true leadership of the party. Is there a court order that goes against that? “I don’t know,” he answered.

Since then, the Labour Party has announced that it will work to have the defectors’ seats declared vacant in accordance with Nigeria’s electoral laws.

Etanabene, however, voiced skepticism that the House of Representatives’ leadership would do so, pointing out that previous decisions indicate otherwise.

In light of this, I don’t think their actions were legal. After that announcement was made yesterday, no one should still be seated in a rational society with order.

“I don’t believe that the current house leadership will announce that their seats are open. It’s a pattern that has existed, but we need to keep fighting that behavior from a legal standpoint,” he said.

Rabiu Kwankwaso, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, and his faction have been urged to stay out of the party by the New Nigeria Peoples Party.

Agbo Major, the national chairman of the NNPP, cautioned Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya group against criminal activities and blackmail that could cause the party to become unstable during a news conference in Abuja on Friday.

According to Major, the Kwankwasiyya faction recently wrote to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, requesting that someone not approved by the party take Aliyu Madaki’s place as Deputy Minority Leader.

“Cruel ignorance about the inner workings of the esteemed Green Chamber is the root cause of the action. They are still determined to undermine the NNPP’s National Assembly caucus, even though they have left our party,” he stated.

Major urged security authorities, especially in Kano State, to look into and stop any disruptive activities by the Kwankwasiyya organization, citing worries over possible violations of the public peace.

Their organization has a reputation for being careless, disturbing the peace, and committing crimes repeatedly. Given the recent court ruling upholding their deportation, we implore security forces to intervene and guarantee compliance with the law,” he said.

Read Also: Adamawa APC plans 2027 return, holds talks with Ganduje in Abuja

Major further revealed that petitions have been submitted to security agencies against Senator Kwankwaso, Buba Galadima, and other leaders of the Kwankwasiyya group to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

He cited a recent decision by the Abia High Court that put the party’s management back in the hands of its founder, Boniface Aniebonam, and stated that the only acceptable correspondence with the Speaker of the House of Representatives would be letters signed by the BOT Chairman or the official party leadership.

“We urge the Honorable Speaker to act only on letters signed by Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam or the duo of Dr. Agbo Gilbert Major and Comrade Sunday Olaposi Oginni as National Chairman and Secretary, respectively,” he added.

Major denounced what he said were unlawful actions by the Kwankwasiyya faction to summon Madaki and Kabiru Rurum for disciplinary proceedings.

According to video evidence, these people have long condemned their affiliation with the Kwankwasiyya sect. He stated that the group is not authorized to act on behalf of the NNPP.

The party emphasized that the Kwankwasiyya group’s leaders have no status within the party after their expulsion and threatened that any acts taken by the group against NNPP members would be deemed void.

We cannot stand by and watch as adversaries of democracy commit actions that could lead to misunderstandings. The NNPP supports civility, constitutionalism, and the rule of law.

“The NNPP reaffirmed its commitment to fostering internal stability and urged all stakeholders to respect the court ruling and party leadership. We also pledged to continue working towards the development of democracy in Nigeria,” he concluded.

Under the leadership of Senator Muhammad Mana, the Adamawa State All Progressives Congress (APC) reconciliation committee has promised to wrest the state back from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2027 elections.

According to reports, the state chapter recently had an internal crisis that resulted in party splits.

Based on this, the National Secretariat established a reconciliation committee to bring the party together.

In addition to Yusuf Buba Yakubu, Dr. Bridget Zidon, and Isa Baba, the eight-member reconciliation committee also comprised Senators Bello Tukur, Abubakar Girei, and Binta Masi.

Mana, the committee’s chairman, told reporters following a closed-door meeting Thursday night at the APC national office in Abuja that the team has been tasked by the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, with resolving internal conflicts and bringing members together.

The committee intends to begin working right away by interacting with party members at the local, ward, and unit levels.

Read Also: NNPC pledges to reduce Methane emissions by 60%

According to Mana, the committee’s main objectives would be to enhance the party’s organizational framework, reestablish grassroots ties, and engage disgruntled members.

Adamawa has been a very important APC state, and we want to ensure that the state returns to its previous standing, he stated. We shall now return to the state and inform everyone that it is time to come together.

“You know, the primary and general elections were the catalyst for our crisis. People who believe they were not adequately compensated for their contributions to the state are those who lost the election.

The national chairman has given us the task of going and pleading with them to ensure that the party is united under the APC’s banner in general.

In order to make sure that everyone joins the group, Mana stated, “in addition to appealing to our party members, we will go down to the grassroots, unit, local government, and ward levels.”

“We want to prepare the next generation of leaders and provide a platform for unity,” Mana stated.

Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for governor of Ogun State, Otunba Segun Sowunmi, has stated his desire to run against the current government in the general elections of 2027 in order to remove President Bola Tinubu from office.

Sowunmi voiced his dissatisfaction with Nigeria’s current political climate when speaking at the North Central National Opposition Movement town hall meeting in Jos, Plateau State. He pointed out that the nation needs a paradigm shift to escape antiquated leadership methods.

Low voting turnout and some voters’ willingness to sell their ballots are causes for concern. Instead of permitting power to be concentrated within a select few, every person should actively participate in the political process in a democracy.

Read Also: Tinubu govt introduces special train services for Christmas, New Year

By encouraging people to create their own institutions and back politicians who share their interests and values, the movement seeks to give citizens the power to take charge of the political system.

“The creation of an alternative platform is a calculated step to enable voters to choose and back candidates who truly reflect their views, creating a more effective and inclusive political environment.

In order to ensure that democracy benefits everyone and not just a select few, he stated that it is the collective duty of all citizens to take part in forming their government.

The former PDP guber candidate emphasized that the movement is presented as a liberation struggle for all citizens, regardless of their socioeconomic background, and called on people to band together in demanding better government and to reject the idea that politics is solely for a chosen few.

“The Nigerian people have not been adequately served by the country’s current political system, which calls for a fundamental reassessment and change of the way politics is practiced.

“Citizens must actively participate in the political process as voters and change agents for democracy to flourish. This entails denouncing unethical behavior and holding leaders accountable,” he continued.