A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tochukwu Okere from Imo State, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okere’s defection was among several moves as four other lawmakers from different states also switched parties. Rep. Donates Mathew from Kaduna State, Bassey Akiba from Cross River, Iyawu Esosa Edo, and Rep. Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu from Delta State also joined the APC.
The defection was announced by the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, during Thursday’s plenary session.
In response, the minority whip, Ali Isah JC (PDP-Gombe), called for the declaration of the defected lawmakers’ seats as vacant, citing Section 68(1) of the Nigerian Constitution (1999, as amended).
However, Speaker Abbas disagreed, stating that the minority whip had failed to reference the entire section correctly when justifying the request to vacate the seats of the defected members.
