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Party dumps, defections, or decamping are not new words to us. Almost every week these days we hear that politicians have been defecting from the political parties that sponsored their elections. As of this month, many serving senators, members of the House of Representatives, and State Houses of Assembly have defected to the ruling party (APC) or the strongest new opposition party (ADC) from the parties on whose platforms they won their elections (PDP, APGA, LP, NNPP, etc.). This is not a new thing in Nigerian politics, as we have seen this several years ago since the inception of the so called democracy. However this is not the issue. The issue that arises is whether all these serving lawmakers are entitled to retain their seats or whether they lose the right to that seat by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
Let us legally analyse the issue
Let me begin by defining the term party decamping/defection/dumping. This term literally means changing from your current political party to another political party. Technically, this means that a prospective bona fide legal member of a political party resigns from one legally recognized political party and joins another political party, having the right to participate in the party's activities and associate himself with the party anywhere.
In this context, the Constitution of Nigeria, under Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), provides that a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives must vacate his seat if he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which the House was elected. The only recognized exception is where the defection is a result of a division in the political party or a merger of parties.
But taking the practical aspect, as mentioned earlier, many politicians are decamping to another party. Taking real examples of
1. PDP TO ADC
Some politicians from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have defected to the newly emerging opposition party which is the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where they form part of the new opposition. However looking at the recent controversies within the People's Democratic Party, one can clearly understand that there is division in that party. many issues are arising from leadership, conventions, membership, and court cases. From a mere observation of a layman this appears to constitute a division within the party, and this is an exception for a member of the Senate or House of Representatives to decamp to another political party of his own choice as contained in Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
One can take the example of Senator Barr. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Senator representing Sokoto South Senatorial District. He decamped to ADC last week and no one challenged it because it falls within the constitutional exception.
2. APGA TO ADC
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), one of the strongest opposition parties in the South-East, also witnessed a situation where a serving member of the Senate defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as part of the massive defection to the new opposition party. However APGA is not a party that a reasonable person would say is divided or experiencing internal crises. yet we saw a serving senator, Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, the Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, attempting to defect to ADC last week in the Senate as he delivered his resignation letter to the Senate President and read in the Senate Seating
However, looking at the provisions of Section 68(1)(g) of the CFRN, it is clear that such a senator could lose his seat since there appears to be no division or crisis within the political party.
As of last week, when his letter was read by the Senate President, many senators, including the Deputy Senate President Senetor Barau i. Jibrin of Kano north senetorial district challenged the move and argued that he had lost his seat since the political party had no issues The senator even mentioned that APGA is one of the most peaceful parties. Senator Abaribe, however, argued that he was no longer a member of APGA because the party had expelled him last September, making him a nonmember of the party.
However, the issue was not resolved as to whether he is still a senator or whether he has lost his seat. The Senate took a bold step by referring the matter to its legal department, and this appears to be a cautious institutional step. By seeking legal advice before taking further action, the Senate demonstrates an attempt to ensure that any decision taken complies with constitutional provisions and the rule of law. Ultimately, the findings and recommendations of the legal department will likely determine whether the member retains his seat or is deemed to have vacated it.
Looking at the above issue constitutionally and judicially, the position of Nigerian constitutional law is that the mandate belongs primarily to the political party. This principle was affirmed by the Supreme Court in case of Ifedayo Sunday Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly, where the Apex Court emphasized that political parties play a central role in Nigeria’s electoral system and that the seat is not purely personal to the candidate.
Furthermore, the Constitution is explicit on this matter. Under Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), a member of the Senate or House of Representatives must vacate his seat if he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which the House was elected. The only recognized exception is where the defection is a result of a division in the political party or a merger of parties.
Judicial interpretation of this constitutional provision has also been reinforced in cases such as Atiku Abubakar v. INEC, where the courts reiterated that defection without a constitutionally recognized justification may lead to the loss of the legislative seat.
Therefore, once a serving member of the Senate or a State House of Assembly loses or abandons membership of the party that sponsored his election, he simultaneously risks forfeiting his seat unless he can successfully rely on the constitutional exceptions relating to division within the party or similar circumstances.
Furthermore the defection of such members of the Senate may create a new minority configuration in the Senate. As ADC gains more members, it could become the largest minority party in the Senate, which may consequently lead to a change in the Minority Leader.
Thank you for Reading.
Umar SG Kalambaina.
A law student.
Author’s views are published for discussion and do not necessarily represent the views of Innovative Bar. Readers should consult the primary legal materials and obtain professional advice where appropriate.
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