We Can't Declare APC Members Seats Vacant ––INEC To PDP

Pressure mounted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on INEC to declare the seats of the 37 Reps who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has met with rebuff from the commission.

The embattled Chairman of the party, Bamanga Tukur, the National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, and the National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon, had signed a letter asking INEC to immediately conduct elections into the affected constituencies following the defection of its members to the APC.

But INEC has told the PDP that it is not within its powers to take such an action:
"Honestly...it is not the job of INEC to take such a decision. INEC is not the one to declare seats of elected public office holders vacant. That is not what the law says and I can tell you that INEC is not going to do that."
Speaking to The Nation on the matter, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Kayode Idowu, said it is not the duty of the commission to declare the seats of lawmakers vacant in whatever circumstance.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, was quoted in a newspaper interview that the PDP had written to INEC and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to declare the seats of the 37 Reps vacant.