Kwara Assembly declares Edu, Irepodun seats vacant after Lawmakers’ defection to PDP

The Kwara State House of Assembly has declared the Edu and Irepodun constituency seats vacant following the defection of Hon. Saaba Issa Gideon and Hon. Olusola Odetundun from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This development followed a letter from the State APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, addressed to the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, requesting that the seats be declared vacant in accordance with Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

Fagbemi argued that the two lawmakers were elected on the platform of the APC and that there was no division within the party to justify their defection to the opposition party.

While debating the request, the Leader of the House, Hon. Oba Mogaji, stated that the defection of the two members was a constitutional matter, citing Section 109(1)(g), which outlines the circumstances under which a member of a State House of Assembly loses their seat upon defecting from the political party on whose platform they were elected.

Mogaji noted that the two lawmakers had left the APC for the PDP and were seeking re-election to their respective seats on the platform of the opposition party, describing the move as a violation of the constitutional provisions presented to the House.

He supported the request for the seats to be declared vacant. Other lawmakers who spoke in support of the motion included Hon. Abolarin Ganiyu Gabriel of Ekiti Constituency, Hon. Ganiyu Folabi of Omupo Constituency, and Hon. Adato Ogunniyi of Ojomu/Balogun Constituency.

Following the debate, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, declared the seats representing Edu and Irepodun constituencies vacant, in line with the resolution of the House.