Erudite lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana has added his voice to the defection of the 27 lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, saying they may have lost their seats unless they can persuade the Supreme Court to reverse its position on defection by legislators.
Falana, a constitutional lawyer also said that it was clear that the 27 lawmakers were not exposed to good legal counsel against the backdrop of the past judgement of the Supreme Court which he noted was unambiguous on the subject matter.
Falana, who stated these when he featured on Channels Television programme ‘Politics Today’ said that all that was required by law was for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections to fill the vacant seats of the 27 former Rivers State lawmakers.
He said that it was important for everybody particularly political office holders to know that once the Supreme Court has made a pronouncement on a matter, everyone is bound to comply.
In his words; “Once the Supreme Court has made a pronouncement on a matter, everyone is bound to comply and if you’re going to take any decision, you must study the judgement critically.
“Just yesterday, 27 legislators who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, had their seats declared vacant by the court. That is the law unless the Supreme Court decides to change it, that is the law in Nigeria today.
“It’s also a good development; it is a good law. It is a good interpretation that there should be no political prostitution in the country because it is tantamount to political immorality. If you won on the platform of a political party and you abandon the party, you are advised to go and try your luck by contesting again under a new political party of your choice,” he said.
Falana therefore urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to as required by law, conduct elections for the seats of the 27 former Rivers State lawmakers.
