The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, says the All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmakers at the Rivers House of Assembly cannot impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara, because they are no longer members of the House.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ologunagba said the directive by the state APC chapter for the lawmakers to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor was in vain.
He said the APC lawmakers had since vacated their seats at the House, by virtue of Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution.
“The lawmakers claiming to be APC members lost their seats after their defection from the PDP, the political party platform on which they were elected into the House.
“For emphasis, Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution provides that: a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if … (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political Party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected.
“It should be noted that Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution is self-executory. The import of this provision is that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who defected, have vacated their seat by reason of that defection.”