A Public Affairs Analyst and former Vice President, Transparency Nigeria, Ezenwa Nwagwu, has called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to either defect to the opposition party or lose his position as the All Progressives Congress (APC) now boasts of having majority of the members in the House.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had obtained a judgement from a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja stopping the House of Representatives from changing its leadership pending the determination of a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to restrain the lower chamber from altering the composition of its leadership.
There have been agitations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a result of mass defection of member lawmakers who cross carpeted to the APC. The party had also gone ahead to seek redress in the court of law to deter more members from decamping, as well as to ensure that the court declares seats of the decampees vacant.
Nwagwu, who is the Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reform, told Channels Television that the Speaker, a PDP member, has no choice in the matter. “You have a PDP speaker now, if majority of the members are opposition. It’s common sense. You can’t continue to be speaker. There’s no magic, all you need to do to retain that position is to defect,” Nwagwu said.
Nwagwu, who noted that the PDP’s decision to go to court is “immoral,” said that the party had benefitted from similar events in the past.
“The PDP as it stands now, going to court is immoral” because “you’ve benefitted from this process in time past, you are still benefitting really.” The PDP “swallowed up majorly most of the smaller parties, in our recent history” and so “to begin to worry now that there’s a change that looks like it’s going to be a vista of hope for serious democratic practice is worrisome.”
The struggle put up by the ruling party “is about contest and leadership. It’s about who controls the leadership of the National Assembly in both Houses, he said, adding that “the agitations of the PDP are not fuelled by principles but by power.
He traced the history of the culture of defection to the 50’s during the “AG and NCNC saga, where members of the then NCNC had to move to the Action Group, which had consequences (till date),” he said, and also noted that the defection “affected the relationship between followers of Nnamdi Azikwe and those of Obafemi Awolowo,”who are still alive.
“That debate is still on as to what really happened. Some said the AG bought over the members of the NCNC,” he said.
He berated PDP’s agitations and further noted that the “The Peoples Democratic Party had benefitted immensely from defections in this democratic dispensation.” He cited instances including the defection of Governor Ikedi Ohakim, “who got his ticket under the PPA and moved to the PDP, with almost all the members of the House of Assembly.”
He also mentioned the case of the governor of Bauchi state (Isa Yuguda) who “did not just marry the PDP. He also married the President’s daughter to cement that relationship.” Also, “In the Senate, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe who moved from AD.”
“It was exciting for everybody and the PDP lapped all of that up.”
Mr Nwagwu, who was on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, expressed hope that the rise in cases of defection would lead to “a situation where the opposition will be leading an arm of government.” “If it truly becomes opposition, then Nigerians would be in for (truly) what democracy is about, which is about checks and balances.” he said.
Responding to claims that the Senate President (SP) will take action against defectors, Mr Nwagwu said the SP cannot do such as he is only ‘primus inter pares” and not the ‘Senate.’ “You can’t by yourself say you would stop people,” he added.
He continued by saying that: “The majority of your colleagues need to stand up to you and show you and show you this history. That’s the point that I’m making.” “I think if democracy is about majority rule, then if in the House of Representatives, you have opposition having the number, it’s just important that you allow them have their way.”
“My expectation as a citizen is that I would want to see a situation in which you have true opposition.”
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