The All Progressives Grand Alliance in Abia State has called on the Senate to declare the seat of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe vacant following his exit from the party.
The demand was made on Thursday, during a press briefing in Umuahia.
A party leader, Mr Obinna Ichita, said the senator voluntarily resigned from APGA and must vacate his seat.
“The senator resigned in his ward. He did so voluntarily,” Mr Ichita said.
“If you leave the party that gave you the platform when there is no leadership crisis, that seat must be declared vacant,” he added.
He also accused Mr Abaribe of misrepresenting the circumstances of his exit.
“The party has documentary evidence to show that he was not sacked. He resigned,” Mr Ichita said.
APGA maintained that there was no internal crisis in the party to justify the senator’s defection.
Party officials argued that under the constitution, lawmakers who defect without valid reasons must vacate their seats.
They also insisted that the mandate belongs to the party and the electorate, not the individual office holder.
Party Position
The APGA State Chairman, Mr Sunday Onukwubiri, and the party’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, said Mr Abaribe had distanced himself from party activities before his resignation.
They stated that he was invited by the party but failed to appear and was later suspended in line with party rules.
According to them, he resigned months after the disciplinary action.
Response from Abaribe
Responding, Mr Abaribe defended his decision, saying he acted within his constitutional rights.
“When you are no longer a member of a party, you have the right of association to join another party,” he said.
He argued that his indefinite suspension amounted to expulsion.
“If a party places you on indefinite suspension for more than six months, it means you have been told to go elsewhere,” he added.
Legal Perspective
Mr Abaribe maintained that the proper way to remove him from office is through a recall process by his constituents.
“If the people who elected me no longer want me, the right thing is to initiate a recall,” he said.
The dispute could trigger legal and constitutional debates over party defection and legislative mandates.
Analysts say the outcome may set a precedent for similar cases involving lawmakers who switch parties without clear internal crises.
Background
Defection by lawmakers has remained a recurring issue in Nigeria’s political system.
The constitution provides conditions under which elected officials may lose their seats, particularly when they leave the party that sponsored their election without a proven internal division.
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