The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned the defection of 16 members of the Rivers lawmakers to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The 32-member Rivers legislature encouraged President Bola Tinubu to run for reelection by passing a vote of confidence in him two days prior to the defection.
PDP spokesperson Ini Ememobong said in a statement released on Friday that the MPs had previously said they would join the APC but later changed their minds, claiming they were acting at the request of a “paymaster.”
According to Ememobong, the lawmakers had continuously shown that they were “political puppets” operating against democratic principles.
“The members of the Rivers state house of assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” the statement reads.
“They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made a mockery of the legislature. So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC.”
He said that the party would file a lawsuit to recover the seats, claiming that the defected Rivers lawmakers had “surreptitiously switched to another” after being elected on its platform.
While attempting to “rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness, and equity,” Ememobong asked its supporters in Rivers to maintain composure.
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