Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele says Abia South senator Enyinnaya Abaribe’s seat may be declared vacant after defecting from APGA to ADC
Leader of the Nigerian Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, has stated that the Abia South senatorial seat held by Enyinnaya Abaribe could be declared vacant following the law, after the senator left the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
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Bamidele made the comments on Thursday during plenary, as Abaribe and eight other senators defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The defections involved senators from the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, and APGA.
“I’m not just a lawyer, by the grace of God, I’m a life bencher. I know this law and I know what I’m talking about. Section 68(1b) had envisaged the situation that Senator Abaribe is in today,” Bamidele said.
He explained that the law states any circumstance that renders a senator ineligible, including leaving the political party under which they were elected, could trigger the seat being declared vacant.
“Again, I still say it, let us give Senator Abaribe an opportunity to withdraw his letter, and then we continue to see how we can manage having him in this chamber. Today, he’s not a member of any political party. He’s not part of the majority, he’s not part of the minority side, unless we are going to create a third aisle for people who don’t belong to either the majority or the minority, which the constitution has said must not happen,” Bamidele added.
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The statement underscores the ongoing tension in the Senate as lawmakers navigate party defections and constitutional provisions governing political representation.
