Defections betray will of people – Katsina APC senator
As debates continue over the propriety of elected officials defecting from one political party to another, a senator of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the practice, describing it as a betrayal of the people’s mandate. Senator Muntari Dandutse (Katsina South) made the remark on Wednesday during the debate on the Electoral Act […]
As debates continue over the propriety of elected officials defecting from one political party to another, a senator of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the practice, describing it as a betrayal of the people’s mandate.
Senator Muntari Dandutse (Katsina South) made the remark on Wednesday during the debate on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which was considered for second reading in the Senate.
In his contribution, Dandutse said the issue of defection needed to be properly addressed through stronger legislation.
““The defection issues need to be addressed because you cannot be elected on a platform and then you will defect without a stringent or strict law that is supposed to be put in (place). Because the mandate and the will of the people are being betrayed,” he said.
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He added that any meaningful amendment to the Electoral Act must include measures that restore public confidence in the system and uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy.
“So, as a matter of fact, we have to look at it as leaders to ensure that if we want to make this electoral amendment and to restore the confidence of Nigerians and also to restore the dignity of Nigeria in the international fora, we have to make sure that all these issues are looked into clause by clause so that we can move this electoral bill forward and make Nigeria greater for the better and for the yet unborn generation,” he said.
Dandutse, who also spoke in support of proposals to hold all elections on the same day and to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government elections, became the first lawmaker from the ruling party to openly criticise the absence of punitive measures for lawmakers who switch parties.
His comments come barely a week after the APC secured a two-thirds majority in the Senate for the first time since assuming power in 2015. The party is now just three members short of achieving the same feat in the House of Representatives.
Since the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023, more than 10 senators and over 60 members of the House of Representatives have defected from opposition parties to the ruling APC. Most cited internal crises and leadership disputes within their parties as the reason for their defections.
The opposition has consistently called on the leadership of the National Assembly to declare the defectors’ seats vacant, in line with Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the loss of a seat if a lawmaker defects without a recognised division in their party. However, the ruling party and the presiding officers of both chambers have rejected such calls, arguing that the constitution allows lawmakers to leave their parties if there are irreconcilable crises within them.
Within the same period, at least four governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have also defected to the APC. However, while Sections 68(1)(g) and 109(1)(g) of the Constitution address defections by members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly, the document does not expressly cover governors. This gap has prompted calls from civil society organisations and other electoral stakeholders for its inclusion in the ongoing constitutional amendment process.