Legal practitioner Inibehe Effiong has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is mandated by the constitution to hold elections for the seats of the 25 lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the APC in Rivers State, unless a court rules differently.
In an interview with Arise TV, Effiong alleged that former Governor Nyesom Wike had previously expressed the opinion that elected officials should not be permitted to keep their seats if they switch parties after being elected. He said Wike’s stance on defection should remain consistent, and he should not take a different position in the current situation with the lawmakers in Rivers State.
In Effiong’s words: “So my postulation is that until the court says otherwise, INEC has a constitutional obligation to conduct elections [for the seats of the lawmakers who decamped] and Nyesom Wike said when you defect, you must lose your position, he said so to former Zamfara State governor so he can not be saying a different thing”.
