C-River Assembly Moves Against Defecting Lawmaker
…Declares seat vacant
BY ARCHIBONG EYO, CALABAR – For daring to defect to the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) in the State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-dominated Cross River State House of Assembly (CRHA) has moved against one of its members, Hon Elucate Okora Ekom, representing Obubra ll State Constituency.
With its decision to sack the member, the Assembly has therefore called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election within 180 days to fill the vacant seat in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
In a resolution that was overwhelmingly passed by the House, the members argued that the reasons for Ekom’s defection were ‘totally unacceptable’ and consequently declared his seat vacant.
The Speaker, Hon John Gaul Lebo had called on the Leader of the House, Hon Moses Ucheche to invoke Section 109; sub-section G2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which deals with such matters and accordingly move the motion seeking to declare vacant the seat of the defecting member.
Speaking on the motion, members expressed shock at the decision of Hon Ekom, whom some of them described as an active and dynamic member, even as they urged him to rescind his decision.
According to them, the crisis at the National level of the party had no effect whatsoever on the workings of the PDP at the State level, adding that the PDP in Cross River State has operated as one family under the leadership of the state Governor, Professor Ben Ayade.
The sacked member had in a letter to the House, Ekom cited crisis within the PDP as his reason for leaving the party adding that he officially defected to the APC at the headquarters of his ward Iyamoyong Obubra Local Government Area with his followers on July 2, 2017.
