Edo PDP, Assembly Speaker renew call for by-election on 14 lawmakers’ seats loyal to Oshiomhole

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Edo, Tony Aziegbemi has said the party had concluded plans to write the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-election into the 14 vacant seats in the state House of Assembly seat.

The seats had been vacant after 14 lawmakers, loyal to the former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, failed to attend the inauguration of the state lawmakers by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The Speaker of the assembly, Francis Okiye has since declared the seat of the 14 lawmakers vacant.

Aziegbemi, in an interview at the weekend said, “We are very worried because about a million people have lost their voices in the house of assembly; nobody is talking about their interest. These are people that voted for our governor in the last governorship election. We want them to be represented.

READ ALSO: 2023: PDP may dump zoning, as Secondus says party’s presidential ticket open to all

“Apart from our demand that INEC should conduct bye-election in those constituencies, we are going to follow up with the letter. Just as the state assembly speaker has done, as a party, we are also going to write INEC officially to carry out its constitutional responsibility by conducting elections into those 14 constituencies.”

There are litigations currently in court over the matter, but the PDP chairman said that INEC should not wait for the conclusion of those litigations because they could take years before judgment would be delivered on them.

“The cases in court should not stop INEC from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities… It is only after INEC had done what it is supposed to do that somebody can go to court and say INEC what you did is wrong. INEC has to do what they are supposed to do first, that’s what the law says not what the PDP says since the seats had been declared vacant by the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly INEC has no option than to conduct the bye-election,” Aziegbemi said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now