APC, New PDP Merger a Done Deal
(Nigeria) APC,
New PDP Merger a Done Deal, MOU Signed *Defecting lawmakers' seats safe: It has been brought
to my notice that a statement denying the merger between the New Peoples
Democratic Party (nPDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been
credited to me and my office. I was quoted as saying that the MOU between the
two parties is yet to be signed and because of this the merger is yet to be
effected.
I wish to state that
no such statement was at any time issued by me or my office. Instead, I wish to
reiterate that the MOU between us and APC has been duly signed by both the nPDP
National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, and the National Chairman of
APC, Chief Bisi Akande.
In this regard, the
general public should disregard any statement from whatever source which tries
to give the impression that the merger between us and APC is in danger. The
truth in that the merger is waxing stronger by the day and that our resolve to
save our fledgling democracy is unshakable.
As we stated in our
press statement of yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP
leadership should come to terms with the fact that PDP is now an opposition
political party and Jonathan should start writing his handover notes as APC is
fully set to take over the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in 2015 so as to give
Nigerians the dividends of democracy they have been yearning for.
Meanwhile, we have
read reports that members of the National Assembly that follow us to APC will
lose their seats. This cannot happen as it will be at variance with the
relevant sections of our Constitution and Electoral Laws that guarantee members
of the National Assembly safety once their parent party is in crisis as PDP is
at the moment.
For the avoidance of doubt, there is
no danger of their losing their seats as made clear by sections 68(1)(g) and
109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended) in relation to the status of members of a legislative house (state and
national) who defect from the political parties from which they were elected to
join another political party.
The wordings of the aforesaid sections
are in agreement with those of sections 64(1)(g) of the 1979 Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria given judicial interpretation by the Supreme
Court in the case of FEDECO Vs Goni (1983) FNR 203. This case was argued by the
best legal minds of that era (Chief FRA Williams SAN and GOK Ajayi SAN). The
court held that such a member keeps his seat if his defection is as a result of
a division or split in his party.
In this regard particularly now that
we have the majority in the National Assembly our members in the National
Assembly should express no fear as they are well protected and covered by the
Constitution of the Federal Republic seeing that Alh Bamanga Tukur and his
cohorts have succeeded to split the PDP into old and new PDP and are free to
join any party of their choice
Long live NPDP!
Long
live Nigeria!!!
Chief
Eze Chukwuemeka
National Publicity
Secretary, NPDP
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