The Labour Party has vowed to declare vacant the seats of the four lawmakers representing the party in the National Assembly who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Recall that on Thursday four LP lawmakers from four states: Kaduna, Imo, Edo and Cross River had defected to the APC.

The lawmakers are Chinedu Okere (Owerri municipal/owerri north/Owerri west constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura federal constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar municipal/Odukpani constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo federal constituency of Edo).


In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiorah Ifoh on Thursday, he said the Labour Party will take legal action against the defectors.

The statement reads in part, “The defection, to us, is quite unfortunate and we condemn the action which is irrational, untenable, inconsistent and alien to all known norms for which democracy stands for.

“Section 68(g) of the 1999 constitution is emphatic on when to defect and what happens when a lawmaker sponsored by a political party decides to jump ship.

“The Constitution states (g) being a person whose election to the House 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;

“Though, the Labour Party leadership is undaunted by the defection, it has however, elected not to allow it slide and has therefore instructed its legal team to commence the legal actions against the defectors and to also commence the process of regaining our mandates in line with the 1999 constitution and 2022 Electoral Act as amended.

“The party will also approach the Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare vacant the seats occupied by these former Labour Party members in line with the House Rules.

“It is inappropriate and unacceptable for these lawmakers to continue to function as representatives of their constituencies illegally.

“The party has also decided to open a ‘Hall of Shame’ register for these lawmakers or any lawmaker or elected officer of the party who engages in fraudulent acts of defection without first dropping the mandate gotten under the ticket of the party.”

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has resolved to put an end to the party’s crisis by scheduling a meeting with former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in January.

During an emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday, PDP BoT Chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara emphasized the importance of internal organization within the PDP, stating that the party’s strength lies in collective determination rather than individual ambitions.

He said, “We cannot afford to let personal ambitions or differences overshadow our shared vision for a better Nigeria.”


“Let us prioritize dialogue, collaboration, and a sense of shared responsibility as we navigate these trying times.

“To this end, the BoT will begin again to search for peace in the new year, starting with former Governor Nyesom Wike, who the BoT had promised to visit again to seek lasting peace.”

Wabara also criticized the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee for its repeated postponements of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

He expressed concern that the ongoing delays in convening the NEC meeting are eroding the trust and confidence of PDP members.

“This delay not only undermines the trust and confidence of our members.”

As plenary resumed at the House of Representatives on Thursday, four lawmakers of the Labour Party (LP) have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

They are Esosa Iyawe (Edo), Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), and Bassey Akiba (Cross River).

Also, a lawmaker, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu (Delta), dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.

The now-former Labour Party lawmakers cited division within their party as the main reason for their defection.

After over 20 years of its formation, pro-workers political organisation, Labour Party (LP) made inroads into mainstream politics during the 2023 elections as the party got six Senate and over 34 House of Representatives seats.

Compared to its phenomenal stride in the 2023 elections, the LP did not get a single seat in the 2019 National Assembly elections.

With the party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi coming third during the poll, many had thought that the Labour Party would form a formidable opposition alongside the PDP against the ruling APC but intra-party squabbles after the general elections have plagued the party.