- Another PDP lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Garba Koko, has announced his defection from the party to the APC
- Koko's defection was announced in a letter read by the Speaker of the House Tajudeen Abbas on Wednesday, February 12, during the plenary
- According to Koko, he was dumping the PDP because of the protracted crisis rocking the leading opposition party
FCT, Abuja - Garba Koko, a House of Representatives member, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and announced his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, announced the defection of the PDP lawmakers in a letter read during the plenary on Wednesday, February 12.
Koko is a lawmaker representing the people of Besse/Maiyama Yema federal constituency in Kebbi state.
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Why Kebbi lawmaker dumped PDP for APC
According to the legislator, his reason for dumping the PDP for the APC was that the leading opposition had been engrossed in a “prolonged and protracted” crisis
Countering Koko's claim, the minority leader of the house, Kingsley Chinda, denied any protracted crisis in the PDP.
The minority leader noted:
“It is important to correct the erroneous impression. There is no protracted problem in PDP.”
PDP lawmaker counter Koko's claim
He added that all the political parties in Nigeria, including the APC and the Labour Party, all their internal disagreement or other issues.
The PDP chieftain the house then asked the speaker to declare Koko's seat vacant, adding that such was in line with section 68 of the 1999 constitution, which stated the conditions under which a lawmaker can lose his or her seat.
Chinda then called the Green Chamber to implement the constitution by declaring the seat of the defected lawmaker vacant. He urged the House not to continue to set a bad precedent.
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In his response to Chinda's claim, Speaker Abbas said only the court has the power to declare the lawmaker's seat vacant.
How many PDP lawmakers have joined APC
Koko's defection comes 24 hours after another lawmaker Amos Magaji from Kaduna state, announced his departure from the PDP and joined the APC.
Recently, the opposition parties, the PDP and the Labour Party, have been rocked with defections of members to the APC.
Among those who recently dumped the PDP to the APC is Chris Nkwonta, representing Chris Nkwonta. He announced his defection from the PDP to the APC on October 2, 2024.
Sulaiman Abubakar, the lawmaker representing the Gummi/Bukkuyum federal constituency of Zamfara, also dumped the PDP for the APC on October 30.
Similarly, on December 5, four Labour Party lawmakers in the House of Representatives joined the APC.
PDP crisis: Atiku explains visit to Obasanjo
Legit.ng earlier reported that the PDP 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has explained that his visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo was merely a courtesy call on the part of his former boss.
Atiku, who was the vice president of Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, said he was not in Abeokuta to discuss politics with the former president.
The former vice president was accompanied by former governors of Cross River and Sokoto, Senator Liyel Imoke and Senator Aminu Tambuwal, and many others.
