From: Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki
The Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) in Ebonyi State, at the weekend, said it has filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abakaliki seeking for declaration of the seat of the representative of Afikpo North in the state Assembly, Maria Ude Nwachi, vacant.
Chairman of the party in the state, Mr. Onyiba Samuel Uche Udeogu, disclosed this while interacting with newsmen in Abakaliki, the state capital.
Udeogu said the reason the suit was filed was because the House of Assembly member who was sponsored on the platform of the PPA during the last general election decamped to the People Democratic Party (PDP) in the State.
“My reason of taking this matter to court was because the actions of Hon. Maria Ude Nwachi which my party sponsored to the House of Assembly were against sections 106 sub-section 1d and section 109 sub-section 1g of the constitution of federal republic of Nigeria as amended in 1999.
“It is a settled law that once there is no division in your party at the national level or there are no talks of merger with any other political party or group that defection in that instance becomes a nullity.
“It is only when there is division in your party which I am sure that PPA at the national level has no division of any kind. Just recently, at the last Anambra governorship election, my party’s governorship candidate, Ezeemo participated in the election and we have no crisis at the national level.
“For her to have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, without any conflict is unconstitutional and therefore, her seat would be declared vacant” he insisted.