A New Day In Nigerian Democracy: Court Declares Reps’ Defection to APC Illegal

Defecting Governors

A Federal High Court in Abuja recently declared as  unconstitutional,  the defection of 42 members of the House of Representatives from the Peoples Democratic Party to the opposition All Progressives Congress. The  ruling put the seats of the 42 lawmakers under threat  as the court also advised them to resign “honorably” because they had  no business in the National Assembly. 

While we welcome this ruling, it is no surprise to us.  We have said it time after time that any defection to another political party after elections does not confer political capital or legitimacy. In a democracy the right to freedom of association is a given.  However, a defection of this nature in the Nigerian polity is crude and lacks sophistication and it amount to political gerrymandering by selfish, self-centered politicians desperate for relevance when their time is running out. As in all democracies, due process and transparency will take care of these political madness. So it has been with this court ruling.
Technically, these defected lawmakers have stalled the business in the congress. They have denied their original political party a say in the legislation, while no legitimate business could be conducted without legal representation. No bills or laws will be considered legal if passed by these defected lawmakers. 

These defections have exposed the flawed characters of these 'politicians'. The instability in their positions has exposed their defective personality traits that will certainly not stand the test of a solid and strong democratic system that we need.  These defecting lawmakers are the unstable elements that we do not need as we lay the foundation for a new democratic Nigeria.  These kind of people will always rear their ugly heads to cause confusion and  instability in the system for their selfish gratification.

Let the Senate President and Mr. Speaker do their jobs and declare these seats vacant immediately. At Center for Modern Nigeria, we call on all defected lawmakers; in both houses (Representative and Senate) and the Governors to vacate their seats without further delay.

Independent National Election Commission (INEC):
Unless there is no time before the next general elections, the INEC should organize 'special elections' to fill those seats in those States with the vacant seats.

Independent National
Electoral Commission

However, these defected lawmakers and the Governors have the rights to return to their original political party where they are always welcomed. But the electorates will never forget the foolishness of the politics of defections and how it imparted the business of the country.  So much time was wasted by these selfish politicians junketing around the country on cosmetic political propaganda, when they should be running the peoples' business they were elected for.  All of these, for the sake of their selfish political gratification. We will educate and inform the masses at the right time that these types of politicians are not good for our new democracy.

Defective and Defected Lawmakers:
With this court ruling, the winners are the masses that elected these politicians to these high offices that they no longer deserve.  They have a lot of work to do to win back the trust reposed in them by the masses that elected them to serve them. By their actions they have demonstrated defective traits that are characteristics of selfishness and poor judgement. They have proven beyond any shadow of doubt that the electorates that entrusted them to serve them are secondary to their self-absorbing interests. By their defections they have inadvertently exposed their defective personality traits that render them unfit to serve.

What has happened now, will happen again if given another chance. The electorates will certainly take care of the business at the ballot box.

We will never forget their disloyalty.

Lets get back to the business of the People. For Goodness sake.........

Delivering judgment in a suit brought against the lawmakers by the PDP, the court further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defected legislators from taking steps, actions or doing anything to effect any change in the leadership of principal officers of the House. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/defection-court-asks-apc-lawmakers-resign/#sthash.j6ySWwtm.dpuf

Delivering judgment in a suit brought against the lawmakers by the PDP, the court further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defected legislators from taking steps, actions or doing anything to effect any change in the leadership of principal officers of the House. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/defection-court-asks-apc-lawmakers-resign/#sthash.j6ySWwtm.dpuf

Delivering judgment in a suit brought against the lawmakers by the PDP, the court further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defected legislators from taking steps, actions or doing anything to effect any change in the leadership of principal officers of the House. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/defection-court-asks-apc-lawmakers-resign/#sthash.j6ySWwtm.dpuf

Delivering judgment in a suit brought against the lawmakers by the PDP, the court further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defected legislators from taking steps, actions or doing anything to effect any change in the leadership of principal officers of the House. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/defection-court-asks-apc-lawmakers-resign/#sthash.j6ySWwtm.dpuf

Delivering judgment in a suit brought against the lawmakers by the PDP, the court further issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defected legislators from taking steps, actions or doing anything to effect any change in the leadership of principal officers of the House. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/defection-court-asks-apc-lawmakers-resign/#sthash.j6ySWwtm.dpuf