One of the 37 lawmakers who defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), has defended his colleagues, insisting that their seats are secure under the law.
Politics Today on Channels Television sought to examine the political implications of this move by the 37 members of the House of Representatives, in view of the calls by the PDP leadership to declare their seats vacant.
Appearing live on the programme to discuss the rationale behind their move, and its legal justification is one of the defectors, and the Chairman House Committee on Judiciary, Ali Ahmad, representing Kwara State in the House.
He claimed that the leadership of the PDP does not respect the constitution and the rule of impunity still abound in the party, whereby a single person would have the powers to dismiss members at will; “if he calls a governor and that governor doesn’t answer his call, he suspends him.”
“Whether it is Alhaji Bamanga Tukur or it is somebody who is directing him, we know the party is not being governed according to the rules.”
Referring to their August 31 walkout from the PDP convention at the Eagles’ Square, Abuja, he said: “We thought it was something that would easily be resolved, because it was resolvable. But we saw a lot of actions and activities that didn’t take us anywhere, and we believed that if we continued on that route, it won’t take Nigeria anywhere.”
Speaking further, “All we have been talking for the past two–three months is about politics, not governance and I predict this is all we’ll be talking about till 2014-2015, which doesn’t serve anybody any good.
“If you do not get the leadership right, I’m sorry you have to go back to the drawing board. So this is where we find ourselves.”
He said that the reasons behind their defection has nothing to do with having an ulterior agenda as alleged by some quarter of the polity, claiming that this was the dummy some people sell to the people in power in order to get favour and attention.
He stressed, “if what members of the APC wanted was to pursue an agenda, they could have gone for it. The day we gained majority in the House, we could have moved and changed the leadership, we had it, and it’s all ours.”
Ahmad took on many allegations and permutations about the implication of their defection which he constantly referred to as misconceptions. One of these is the newly assumed status of the APC as the majority in the House. He said: “by the rules of the House, you would have majority leadership when your party controls the highest number of members.”
He also debunked the allegation that they betrayed the PDP, which brought them into office, saying that in Kwara State where he belongs, the party does not make the people; it is the people who make the party. “We made PDP what it is; we gave PDP success and not the other way. I don’t know about other states but PDP doesn’t give anybody success in Kwara State.”
He took time to explain the lawmakers’ interpretation of the constitutional provision for cross-carpeting. He explained that Section 68, 1(G) is the constitutional provision on cross-carpeting from a party to another, and they have precedence in the case of Goni and FEDECO.
“Section 68, 1(G) provides that a member who changes his party would lose his seat, very clear but it says he would not (lose the seat) in two circumstances. Number 1, when there is a division or faction in his party…the second situation is that when there is a merger between his party and another party.
“Those who are fuelling this propaganda choose what they want Nigerians to believe and they punctuate the sections of the constitution. So they put full stop at that point where the constitution says any legislator that defects will lose his seat.”
On being tagged as rebels, Ahmad, who chose to personalize the allegation, rejected the tag vehemently, claiming that Kwara State has never been known to be in the opposition but rather seen as being politically accommodating.
He added; “some people said part of the demand was that Jonathan should not run. I cannot remember that being (so) and I can say it is not. If it were, I would not be part of it. I support President Jonathan running for the election in 2015, that is his cardinal right; it’s his fundamental right, but please do it according to the laid rules and regulations.”
