Kwara Assembly declares member’s seat vacant for defecting from APC to SDP

The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu, had led the House of Assembly to declare the seat of a member of the House, Saheed Popoola, representing Ojomu/Balogun State Constituency, vacant following his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu in a letter to the INEC, dated March 28, 2022, explained that the decision to declare the seat vacant is in line with the provisions of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution.

According to the Speaker, “Following the letter of Notification of defection by Hon. Saheed Popoola Adekeye from the APC to Social Democratic Party (SDP) which was read at the floor of the Hon. House on Tuesday March 22, 2022 and with reference to a letter from the APC, Kwara State chapter, requesting for the declaration of Ojomu/Balogun State Constituency seat vacant, I wish to inform you that in accordance with Section 109 (1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended, the Ojomu/Balogun State Constituency seat with the defection of Hon. Saheed Popoola Adekeye from APC to SDP is deemed to have been automatically vacated by him since there is no division in the party on which platform he won the election in 2019.”

The decision may, however, be a case for contention in court. The APC in Kwara State has for long been thrown into crisis and accordingly divided between the state governor and his loyalists and the minister of information and culture and his supporters. Invariably, the division of the APC in Kwara State may not be in doubt when the declaration of the lawmaker’s seat is tested in court.