PDP Asks Court To Sack Reps Member, Oke, For Defecting To APC

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, praying it to sack a member of the House of Representatives, Oluwole Oke, following his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The party urged the court to invalidate Oke’s continued stay as the lawmaker representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency of Osun, as well as to compel the Speaker of the House of Reps, Tajudeen Abbas, to declare the seat vacant.

In the suit it filed through a team of lawyers led by Mr. Raphael Oyewole, the plaintiff contended that Oke’s action was in breach of Section 68(1)(g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, insisting that he defected to the APC when there was no verifiable division, merger or faction within the PDP.

It further urged the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to discharge its constitutional duty by initiating the process for the conduct of a bye-election to fill the vacant seat.

More so, PDP prayed the court to direct the Clerk of the National Assembly, NASS, to withdraw all entitlements and stop the payment of salaries, allowances, including benefits, to Oke.

It equally sought an order to compel the embattled lawmaker to refund all salaries, emoluments, benefits and allowances he received from the date he resigned from PDP to the date judgement would be delivered in the matter, having unlawfully retained a legislative seat in violation of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

Cited as 1st to 5th defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1040/2025, are: Oke; the House of Reps; Clerk of NASS, Speaker of the House of Reps and INEC.

PDP, among other things, urged the court to determine: “Whether by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), a member of the House of Representatives, such as the 1st defendant is not liable to forfeit his legislative seat, for resigning his membership of the plaintiff’s political party upon whose platform he was elected, to join another political party, in the absence of a division, merger or faction in the plaintiff political party.”

It will be recalled that the lawmaker had in a letter dated April 16, which he addressed to the PDP Chairman in Ward 7, Obokun Local Government Area of Osun, announced his resignation from the party.

Already, an Abuja-based lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has commenced a campaign to takeover the Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency seat at the House of Reps.