Despite court order, PDP urges Saraki to declare Akpabio’s seat vacant

Senate President Bukola Saraki has been urged to declare the seat of senator representing Akwa Ibom North-west senatorial district, Godswill Akpabio, vacant.

The call was made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Akwa Ibom State chapter in a letter to the Senate praying that the action be taken against Akpabio, who recently dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC), without delay.

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court following an ex parte application by Akpabio’s lawyers, Chikaosolu Ojukwu and Ebere Ahanonu, had earlier issued an order on Saraki and the Senate not to declare Akpabio’s seat vacant pending the determination of a suit on the matter in court.

However, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr. Ini Emembong, called on the Senate President to declare Akpabio’s seat vacant since it was not within the party’s purview to declare the seat of a defecting senator vacant.

According to him, PDP in the state addressed the letter to Saraki, because he reserved the power to declare seats of senators vacant, as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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“The declaration will be done on the floor of the Senate. We have made the request through a letter. We would have taken the matter to court, but the constitution says when such a thing happens, it is the Senate President that will declare a defector’s seat vacant,” he said.

Akpabio was the Senate minority leader before he defected to the APC.

 

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