The embattled daughter of former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, has filed a suit seeking to prevent the formal declaration of her seat as vacant in the National Assembly. Ibori-Suenu represents Ethiope Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
In an affidavit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the nation's capital, she named the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the House, and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) as defendants. According to reports from Vanguard, Ibori-Suenu attributed her defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unresolved internal crises within her former party.
She argued that no action should be taken to declare her seat vacant because her defection was consistent with constitutional provisions. She stated:
“For over a year, the 3rd defendant (PDP) has been enmeshed in a series of unresolved leadership crises at the national level, which have split the party into two irreconcilable factions.
“The 3rd defendant began experiencing internal strife before the 2023 presidential election, particularly after the primaries conducted to elect the party's presidential candidate.
“The division within the party,” she continued, “is evident in calls by supporters of the party's 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for the suspension of the former Rivers State Governor (now a minister) and others in his camp for anti-party activities. In response, supporters of the former Rivers Governor have demanded disciplinary actions against Atiku and his allies, including former Jigawa and Niger State Governors Sule Lamido and Babangida Aliyu.”
Her legal action comes just 24 hours after PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba issued a press statement declaring her seat vacant. The statement read:
“It is settled law that by her defection from the PDP, the political party on whose platform she was elected, Hon. Ibori-Suenu has willfully vacated her seat, rendering it vacant by virtue of the self-executing provision of Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“For clarity, Section 68 (1) (g) states: A Member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall vacate their seat if they were elected on the platform of a political party but join another party before the expiration of the term for which they were elected.”
The statement added:
“With this unambiguous constitutional provision, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, Hon. Ibori-Suenu has irredeemably lost her seat, along with all rights, privileges, recognition, and obligations as a Member of the House of Representatives.
“She should, therefore, desist from parading herself as a Member of the House of Representatives, as such actions would amount to impersonation with potential criminal consequences.
“The PDP calls on the National Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms to note that Hon. Ibori-Suenu has ceased to be a Member of the House of Representatives,” the statement concluded.
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