Following the defection of two PDP members to the YPP, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly declared the seats of the Esit Eket and Ikono State Constituencies vacant on Tuesday at its session.
Usoro Akpanusoh, who represented Esit Eket, and Asuquo Nana Udo, who represented Ikono, respectively, held the seats.
When announcing the vacancies, the Speaker of the House, Aniekan Bassey, stated that the Federal Republic of Nigeria's modified Constitution's Section 109 (1) (a-g) provided the foundation for the strength of the house.
The Speaker said the section stipulates thus: “Being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected.
“Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”
The Speaker, however, directed the Clerk of the House, Mandu Umoren, to communicate the order of the House to the appropriate authorities.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Aniefiok Dennis (Etinan), who addressed the press shortly after the plenary, said “the Speaker relied on the provisions of Section 109(1)(g) in declaring the seats vacant. He acted in compliance with extant law, since the affected Honourable Members abandoned their seats, given to them by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).”
The House was later adjourned to Thursday, October 13, 2022, by 10am.