Crisis of confidence and leadership tussle rocking the Labour Party (LP), took further toll on the party on Thursday as four of its members in the House of Representatives, left its fold for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
By Emma Ogbuehi
Crisis of uncertainty and leadership tussle rocking the Labour Party (LP), took further toll on the party on Thursday as four of its members in the House of Representatives, left its fold for the All Progressives Congress (APC). A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also joined in cross-carpet.
The lawmakers are Tochukwu Okere, Imo State; Donates Mathew, Kaduna State; Bassey Akiba, Cross River State; and Iyawu Esosa Edo. Erthiatake Ibori-Suen of Delta State, also defected from PDP to APC. Ibori-Seun is the daughter of former Delta state governor, James Ibori.
Explaining the reason for their exit from LP, Matthew, who represents Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, said the decision to defect to the APC was based on conviction.
Asked if his imminent defection has the backing of his Constituency, Matthew who made history when he won the parliamentary election in 2023 as a commercial motorcycle rider (Okada) said, “You cannot just work on the decision of the people at the constituency level because you are dealing with people with different levels of understanding.
“I am taking this decision based on conviction. That is why whether you like it or not, there are people within the constituency who are convinced that it (defection) is the right decision for them. There are those who are skeptical waiting for the outcome,” he said.
The defection was announced by Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House, on the floor of the green chamber during plenary.
READ ALSO:
Labour Party loses four House of Reps members to APC
Responding to the defection, the minority whip, Ali Isah JC (PDP-Gombe), asked the speaker to declare the seats of the defected opposition lawmakers vacant in line with Section 68(1) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended).
The Speaker, however, said the lawmaker has failed to quote the whole section he quoted to justify his call to declare the seats vacant.
Labour Party which featured former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi as its presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, had created enormous impact on the youths on account of its people-oriented programmes. Based on the popularity that trailed the party, many aspirants flocked to it for tickets to the election. The wave the party generated, saw some of them winning their elections virtually on the platter.
The euphoria however started going down following intractable leadership crisis in the party coupled with sheer absence of precise ideology among Nigerian politicians and their inability to keep faith with a particular political organisation, especially at moments of crisis.
