The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared the seats of its members in the Imo state House of Assembly, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) vacant.
The speaker, Collins Chiji, and other seven lawmakers had dumped PDP for APC.
The latest defections followed the ouster of the former governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha, a PDP member by the Supreme Court. The state is now governed by Senator Hope Uzondima of the APC.
National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, who addressed a press conference in Abuja Wednesday, described the action of defected lawmakers as unpatriotic and unpardonable betrayal of the mandate given to them by the state’s electorate.
Ologbondiyan said their defection to the ruling party did not satisfy the provisions of the constitution, adding that their exit from the party had created vacancies in their constituencies.
He said: “The PDP has received report that some members of the Imo state House of Assembly elected on the platform of our great party, the PDP have decided to betray the mandate they hold on the pedestal of our own party to defect to APC, ostensibly for their very selfish reasons.
“PDP describes such action as unpatriotic and unpardonable betrayal to the people of their respective constituencies, who chose and indentified with the ideal and vision of the PDP as the platform for their representation at the Imo state House of Assembly.
“Possibility holds that these defectors are fully aware of the great implication of their action to the effect that by their defection to the APC, they have automatically lost their seats and membership of the Imo state House of Assembly.
“And consequent upon this constitutional provision, these defectors have already vacated their seats, they no longer have a say in the state House of Assembly, and there is no division or merger of any kind in the PDP.’’
