ADP Warns Senate Against Selective Use of Defection Law

The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has called on the leadership of the Nigerian Senate to ensure the uniform enforcement of constitutional provisions governing political defections by members of the National Assembly.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Chairman, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, the party expressed concern over remarks reportedly made by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, suggesting the possible declaration of the seat of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe vacant over alleged defection.

According to the party, Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) clearly states that a member of the National Assembly must vacate their seat if they become a member of another political party before the end of their tenure, except in cases of division or merger within their original party.

The ADP noted that the provision has been affirmed in several judicial pronouncements, including the Supreme Court rulings in Amaechi v. INEC (2007) and Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly (2015), which established that electoral mandates belong to political parties rather than individual candidates.

The party also referenced the case of Senator Pam Nwadkon Dachungyang, who was elected on the platform of the ADP to represent Plateau North Senatorial District but later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the ADP, the defection occurred despite the absence of any internal crisis, division, or merger within the party, circumstances which the Constitution recognises as exceptions.

The party therefore urged the Senate leadership to apply the constitutional provision consistently, warning that selective enforcement could undermine public confidence in the legislature.

“The Constitution is not partisan. It is supreme,” the statement read, adding that Nigeria’s democracy requires the law to be applied without bias or political consideration.