30th March, 2024
By Ifeoma Aka
Mr Harrison Ogara, a member representing Igbo-Eze South Constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly, has said Labour Party, LP will ensure that the seats of six lawmakers who recently defected from the party to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state are declared vacant.
Ogara, also a member of LP said this on Saturday in Enugu while reacting to the defection of six House of assembly members elected on the platform of the party to the PDP last Thursday.
“I believe that the Labour party will approach the court to declare the seats of the defectors vacant because section 51 of the 2022 Electoral Act provided that if you cross-carpet from your party to another as a legislator, you automatically lose your seat,” Ogara said.
He also dismissed as false, the claim that there is a leadership crisis in the Labour Party (LP).
The lawmaker maintained that there was no crisis in the party to warrant the defections to the PDP, stressing that the claim was “untrue and deceptive”.
“They say Gov. Peter Mbah is performing, yes he is. But you can still be at your party and support him.
“For the past nine months, we have been working like a team, not minding the party we come from. I can support him from the Labour Party, which is what I am doing.
“It is like calling a dog a bad name just to hang it.
“The truth is that they wanted to leave for the PDP. They wanted to abandon the vehicle that brought them to the House of Assembly,” the lawmaker said.
Ogara maintained that the defectors were free to join any political party of their choice, but they should not do that through deceit and lies.
He regretted that the defectors had dumped the platform that brought them to power, adding that going forward, the Labour Party would not give its ticket to anyone not committed to it.
(NAN)