Former Senator Magnus Abe addressed the issue of political defections in Rivers State. During an interview with ARISE TV, He noted that defection is common in Nigeria, citing his own defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the Senate, which did not affect his committee positions. Abe pointed out that defections occur regularly, including recent ones in the House of Representatives and among PDP members in Abia State.
He stated, “Defection in this country is not new. I was a member of a people’s Democratic party; I defected on national television on the floor of the Senate. 11 of us did; we retained our membership in the Senate, and we retained our chairmanship of our committees. Even last month, people defected in the House of Representatives from Delta State. Every month in this country, people defect. The day the Abia State governor was in Rivers, some members of the PDP defected to the Labour Party in Abia State; they are still members of the assembly. So this whole issue is, to me, baseless.”
He emphasised that membership in a legislative assembly is contingent upon being sworn in by the Speaker, and simply winning an election or receiving a certificate from INEC does not confer membership. Therefore, he argued that claims of losing membership due to defection are baseless and not how the legislative process works.
“First of all, how do you become a member of a House of Assembly, or a member of a legislature? You become a member when you are given an oath by the speaker of the house; that’s how you become a member. So, even if you win your election and get your certificate of return from INEC, it doesn’t make you a member. Your name will not get into the accounts of the house; you won’t have a tag; you won’t have a seat unless you’re sworn in by the speaker. So how do you cease to become a member? Even if you defect, nobody can stay in their house or stay on the radio and say you’re no longer a member of the house. That is not the way it works,” he continued.
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