Worried by the uncontrollable incidences of defections by Nigerian politicians, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, on Friday called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the Electoral Act amendment to end the ugly trend.
Itodo gave the charge while delivering his goodwill message at a symposium organised in honour of the Director General of the National Institutte for Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja.
Particularly disturbed by the prevalent defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he lamented that the ugly development was rapidly changing the political atmosphere ahead of the 2027 general elections.
It will be recalled that, on April 23, Delta Governor Sheriff Oborevwori switched allegiance to the APC, taking with him the entire Peoples Democratic Party structure in the state and the PDP’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa.
Also, many members of the opposition namely the PDP, Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples Party in the National Assembly had also left for the ruling party.
He, however, posited that it was gross injustice for defectors to still hold on to the people’s mandate after abandoning the platform that gave them privilege to be voted into office.
He said, “Nigerians would want NILDS to help solve these problems and I am glad the clerk (of the National Assembly) is here. There is a lot of cross-carpeting happening in the National Assembly and Nigerians are wondering if it is not possible to look for an intellectual solution to this defection.
“When people contest for office on certain platforms and people give them their trust and the Supreme Court has said that votes in an election belong to a party, shouldn’t these individuals vacate those particular seats?”
Itodo also drummed support for more representation of women in the act of lawmaking at the National Assembly.
He said, “It’s not for clapping. But again, this is an intellectual edifice and this is a room for debate. So I am putting it before you as part of your next agenda. Can we solve this problem about cross-cutting and decamping using legal reforms?
“The second point is about the role of women in politics. It is a great deal to put back more lobbying legislators, because we want to see more women in the National Assembly.
“The third, and perhaps the last point, is that this institute has invested so much in elections and electoral reform under your leadership. Please help us ask the National Assembly to pass the electoral amendments before the end of the year. Again, I am glad that the clerk is still seated beside you.”
