The depleting of Labour Party’s (LP) ranks continued yesterday as its governorship candidate in last year’s election in Bayelsa State, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, the running mate, Commodore Benjamin Nathus (retd), and a member of the House of Representatives from Plateau state, Hon. Alfred Ajang, dumped the party.
While Ajang declared he has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Eradiri and Nathus (retd) who announced their resignations from the party yesterday, said they were still consulting on which party to join.
It was gathered that most of the local government chairmen of the party in Bayelsa joined Eradiri and Nathus to dump the party.
These defections come barely 48 hours after a Labour Party member representing Barkin ladi/Riyom federal constituency of Plateau state, Hon. Dalyop Chollom also defected to APC.
Before Chollom, four LP House of Reps members had dumped their party for APC last week. The four members are Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), and Iyawe Esosa (Edo). They all joined the ruling APC.
The defections came amid threats by the Labour Party that they would lose their seats as provided by the law. The national public secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, in a fresh reaction to yesterday’s defection said the party has gone to court.
Unfazed by the party’s opening of a ‘Hall of Shame’ Register for the defectors, Eradiri, who was recently conferred Fellowship by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), sent his resignation letter to the state chairman of the party in Yenagoa.
In the letter dated December 8 and titled, Letter of Withdrawal as a Labour Party Member, Eradiri said he took the decision to enable him pursue his political career on a platform ready and prepared to provide the kind of leadership that Bayelsa deserved.
He said it was unfortunate that LP couldn’t scale through the intrigues and challenges implanted in its leadership.
He noted that it was a great moment working together politically and traversing the nooks and crannies of the state in the quest for leadership, adding that his decision was supported by his loyalists.
Eradiri further disclosed that he was undergoing serious consultations to decide the next political platform that would enable him to provide service to the people.
Also in his letter of withdrawal, Nathus said his defection was borne out of his decision to seek a platform committed to a leadership that would propel Bayelsa towards a brighter and more prosperous future.
On his part, the Plateau federal lawmaker, Hon. Alfred Ajang, who represents Jos South/Jos East federal constituency of Plateau announced his defection via a letter read by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen at resumed plenary on Thursday.
In the letter of defection, Ajang cited the crisis in the Labour Party and the need for realignment with the national development agenda of the APC under the leadership of former President Muhammadu Buhari and now President Bola Tinubu as his reasons for joining the ruling party.
Reacting, the Labour Party spokesman, Ifoh, said “The leadership of the Labour Party again received with dismay news of the betrayal of the people of Jos South/Jos East by Mr. Akangbe Illiya, a man whom the Labour Party and the people of Plateau State entrusted with their collective hopes and aspirations for a just and equitable society through legislation.
“Hon. Illiya who just engraved his name on the Labour Party ‘Hall of Shame’ Register has brought dishonour to himself through this action.
“While it is true that the constitution guarantees citizens the right to freedom of association, the constitution qualifies such rights regarding the membership of political parties.
“The law does not protect an individual who steals the mandate of a people and a political party to run into another without first surrendering the mandate he deceitfully acquired.
“This, defection like similar ones before it is quite unfortunate and condemnable. Section 68(g) of the 1999 constitution is emphatic on when to defect and what happens when a lawmaker sponsored by a political party decides to jump ship.
“It is unnecessary probing why most of the defectors chose the All Progressives Congress (APC) as their destination point and why the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abass has refused to respect the provisions of the constitution by declaring their seats vacant.
“However, those politicians who have chosen to abandon the people at this crucial time in their lives are the ones who deserve pity because they have exposed themselves as unworthy of our collective trust going forward.”
He added that the party has since filled actions in the court to compel the National Assembly leadership to declare the seats of the defected Labour Party lawmakers vacant.
“The suit also seeks that every salary, emolument or privileges received, from the date of defection, be returned,” the statement said.
