Defection: PDP Writes INEC

As part of its resolve to checkmate the gale of defection from the party, the national working committee of the Peoples democratic Party has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission asking it to declare vacant the seats of 37 of its members in the House of Representatives, 

who last Wednesday dumped the party for the opposition APC.
A Sunday Sun source revealed that the letter which was dated December 19, 2013 and addressed to the Chairman of the electoral body,
Professor Atahiru Jega was jointly signed by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Professor Wale Oladipo and Victor Kwom, national chairman, national secretary and national legal adviser of the party, respectively.
Recall that the affected lawmakers from Kwara, Rivers, Sokoto, Kano and Adamawa states under the control of PDP governors that defected to APC had since filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to restrain PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and the INEC from declaring their seats vacant.
But when asked to confirm if the Commission had received a correspondence from PDP on the defected lawmakers, Kayode Idowu, media spokesperson to Professor Jega said he was not aware of such a letter. He also told Sunday Sun that it was not the statutory responsibility of INEC to declare seats vacant.
“I don’t know, but it isn’t the duty of INEC to declare seats vacant. But honestly, I am not aware of such a letter from PDP,” Idowu said.


The Sun