By Correspondent in Abuja.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the removal of four National Assembly members from Osun State who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers are Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi (Osun East), Senator Olubiyi Oluwole Fadeyi (Osun Central), Hon. Omirin Emmanuel Olusanya (Atakumosa East/West and Ilesa East/West Federal Constituency), and Hon. Taofeek Abimbola Ajilesoro (Ife Central/East/North and South Federal Constituency).
In four separate suits filed on Wednesday by its lead counsel, Raphael Oyewole, the PDP listed each lawmaker as the first defendant. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was joined as second defendant in the suits against the senators, while the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, was listed as second defendant in the cases involving the House members. The National Assembly, the Clerk of NASS, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were joined as third to fifth defendants in all the suits.
The party is seeking the court’s interpretation of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that lawmakers who defect from the political party on whose platform they were elected must forfeit their seats, except where there is evidence of division, merger, or faction within the party.
PDP, therefore, prayed the court to:
Declare the continued occupation of the four seats illegal and unconstitutional.
Compel the Senate President and Speaker of the House to immediately declare the seats vacant.
Direct INEC to conduct bye-elections in the affected senatorial districts and constituencies.
Order the Clerk of the National Assembly to withdraw all entitlements and stop further payments of salaries and allowances to the affected lawmakers.
Mandate the lawmakers to refund all salaries, allowances, and benefits they had received from the date of their defection to the date of judgment.
The party stressed that granting the reliefs would ensure strict compliance with Section 68(1)(g) and (2) of the Constitution.
The originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1725/2025, FHC/ABJ/CS/1728/2025, FHC/ABJ/CS/1727/2025 and FHC/ABJ/CS/1726/2025, were filed on August 20 and are yet to be assigned to a judge.
It will be recalled that the Osun State PDP had earlier instituted a similar action against Rep. Oluwole Oke, representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, over his defection to the APC, as the party continues to test the constitutional provisions on legislative defections in court.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
