The Delta State House of Assembly has explained why it declared the seat of the lawmaker representing Udu Constituency vacant.
Speaking to journalists after Tuesday’s plenary, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and House Leader, Emeka Nwaobi, said the decision was based strictly on the Nigerian Constitution and not on politics.
According to him, the lawmaker representing Udu Constituency resigned and later defected to another political party in a way that did not follow the constitutional rules for elected lawmakers.
Nwaobi explained that under Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), a lawmaker who leaves the political party that brought them into office automatically loses their seat, except if there is a serious division or crisis within that party at the national level.
He said the House found no evidence that such a crisis existed in the lawmaker’s former party. As a result, the Assembly resolved that the seat should be declared vacant.
“The Delta State House of Assembly is guided only by the Constitution. Every decision we make is based on the law and not on political considerations,” Nwaobi said.
He added that the Assembly remains committed to upholding the rule of law, constitutional democracy, and legislative integrity. He also urged the public to read the relevant constitutional provisions before criticizing the House’s decision.
The House maintained that its action was simply the implementation of the Constitution and should not be seen as a political attack.
