Defection: PDP Accuses Rivers Lawmakers Of Political Servitude, Threatens Court Action

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the recent defection of 16 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the move as a “redefection” and an act of political servitude.

Recall that 16 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly defected from PDP to APC on Friday.

In a statement issued on Saturday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, accused the state lawmakers of acting under the influence of a “paymaster and demigod,” insisting that their action exposed them as “political puppets and a clog in the wheel of democratic progress.”

“We have seen on various media platforms news of the redefection of some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who, for a second time, announced their defection from our party. We recall that they had done so earlier and later recanted. These are people whom the world is aware are doing the bidding of their paymaster and demigod,” the PDP said.

The party noted that the lawmakers, by their conduct since assuming office, had “made a mockery of the legislature,” adding that they would go down in history “as enemies of democracy.”

“The easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” the statement added, in a jab suggesting the lawmakers had long ceased to be loyal to the PDP.

The PDP further disclosed plans to initiate legal proceedings to reclaim the mandates of the defected lawmakers, citing provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party, which these people have now ignobly and surreptitiously switched to another platform,” the statement read.

Ememobong urged all PDP members in Rivers State to remain faithful and steadfast, assuring that the party was already taking steps to rebuild along “the path of inclusiveness, fairness, and equity.”

“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” he stated.