By Habeeb Ibrahim
The Labour Party (LP) has condemned the recent defection of five of its lawmakers in the National Assembly to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing their actions as a betrayal of public trust.
In a strongly worded statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the LP expressed dismay over the defections, which were announced during a plenary session in the House of Representatives.
The defectors include Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), Iyawe Esosa (Edo), and Daulyop Fom (Plateau). Their letters of defection were read on the House floor by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
The LP labeled the defections “irrational, untenable, and inconsistent with democratic norms,” citing Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits lawmakers from defecting to another party unless their former party is undergoing a division or merger. According to the LP, no such conditions currently exist within the party.
“Labour Party has achieved absolute peace and stability,” the statement read. “No lawmaker elected on our ticket has the constitutional protection to abandon the party with its mandate.”
The party highlighted the significant sacrifices made by ordinary Nigerians to secure electoral victories for its candidates in the 2023 general elections, including providing free nomination forms to candidates. It also criticized the defectors for allegedly neglecting their responsibilities to the party.
“These deserters did not win because of their pedigree or financial strength but because of the Labour Party’s ticket and the support of millions of Nigerians who invested their trust in them,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, these lawmakers derailed as soon as they were exposed to the luxury of their legislative positions.”
The LP specifically called out Donatus Mathew, a former commercial motorcyclist elected in Kaduna, for justifying his defection by claiming he was the sole LP member in the Northwest region. The party accused him of dishonoring the memory of Victoria Chintex, an LP women’s leader in Kaduna who was assassinated while campaigning for the party in 2022.
To address defections, the LP announced the creation of a “Hall of Shame” register to document the names of defectors and other elected officials who abandon the party without relinquishing their mandates. The party also named additional lawmakers, including Senator Francis Ezenwa Onyewuchi (Imo East), who would feature prominently in the register.
In response to the defections, the LP has instructed its legal team to begin proceedings to reclaim the affected mandates. The party also plans to petition the Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare the defectors’ seats vacant.
The LP urged Nigerians to reject politicians it described as “opportunistic merchants” lacking ideological commitments to democracy. “We must isolate these political merchants and bury their mercantilist political enterprise by rejecting them in future elections,” the statement concluded.
The defections mark a setback for the LP, which achieved its most significant political milestones in the 2023 elections, winning a governorship seat, eight Senate seats, 35 House of Representatives seats, and numerous state assembly positions.
