Ebonyi Assembly Declares 3 PDP Lawmarkers’ Seats Vacant

Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Tuesday declared the seats of three members of the Assembly elected on the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) vacant.

This followed a letter of resignation purportedly written by the three lawmakers resigning from their seats. The embattled Speaker of the House, Francis Nwifuru read the letter during an emergency sitting of the House.

The three lawmakers are Ali Okechukwu (Ishielu North), Franca Okpo (Abakaliki North), and Victor Aleke (Ebonyi West).

The three lawmakers and their other five PDP colleagues were not present at the sitting, while 15 All Progressive Party counterparts, attended the sitting. Nwifuru, had, after reading their alleged letters of resignation on the floor of the House, declared the seats of the three lawmakers vacant.

He also ordered the Clerk to write to the Independent National Electoral Commission notifying the commission of the development and the need to conduct fresh elections in the affected constituencies.

But the three PDP affected lawmakers maintained that they were still members of the House of Assembly. Speaking on their behalf in a telephone interview, Hon. Victor Aleke described the actions of the Speaker and the APC lawmakers as illegal.

Recall that on 8th March 2022, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja in a declaratory judgement sacked the Ebonyi State Speaker and 15 other Lawmakers for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC in the State.

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According to him, the Speaker and the other APC lawmakers, having been sacked by the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ceased to be lawmakers and should not have sat in the first place.

He said, What they have done today by purporting to sit and declare our seats vacant amounts to contempt of court and the court may declare them wanted if care is not taken.

We have no reason whatsoever to resign our seats. We are still lawmakers representing our various constituencies and we enjoin our supporters and the general public to disregard what they have done.