The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost another member of the House of Representatives to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amos Magaji, who represents the Jaba/Zango Kataf Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, cited the ongoing crisis within the PDP as his reason for defecting. During Tuesday’s plenary session, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas read Magaji’s letter of defection on the House floor.
“The unresolved crises in the PDP, from the national to the state level, have made it difficult for me to remain in the party,” Magaji stated.
Magaji becomes the third PDP member to defect to the APC since the inauguration of the 10th Assembly, following Chris Nkwonta from Abia State and Eriatheke Ibori-Suenu from Delta State.
Opposing the defection, Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda urged the Speaker to declare the Kaduna lawmaker’s seat vacant, citing constitutional provisions.
Referring to Section 68(1g) of the constitution, Chinda argued that while lawmakers have the right to leave the party on whose platform they were elected, the law also outlines consequences for such actions, including the loss of their seat. He criticized the trend, stating that members of the House were becoming both lawmakers and lawbreakers.
