Bill to reduce frequent lawmakers’ defection scales second reading

A bill aimed at restricting the frequent defections of federal lawmakers from one political party to another has passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.

According to Naija News, the bill proposes an amendment to Section 68(1g) of the 1999 Constitution, requiring National Assembly members to officially resign from their political party before switching to another. This move is in response to the growing trend of lawmakers, particularly from opposition parties, defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In recent years, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have seen several lawmakers change parties, raising concerns about the stability and credibility of the political system.

Clause 1 of the bill seeks to modify Section 68(g) of the Constitution, stating: “No member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall be deemed to have validly defected to another political party unless they have first submitted a written letter of resignation to the political party on whose platform they were elected, and such resignation has been duly communicated to the National Chairman or Secretary of the party through a verifiable medium, including but not limited to physical delivery with an official acknowledgement of receipt, electronic mail, or other legally recognised means of documented transmission.”

The bill is designed to make party defections more transparent and accountable by ensuring that lawmakers formally resign from their previous party before joining a new one.

Renowned constitutional lawyer Femi Falana has also spoken on the issue, describing the mass defections in the National Assembly as illegal. He stressed that lawmakers who wish to switch parties must first resign from the party that sponsored their election, underscoring the need to follow legal procedures.

The bill follows a key legal precedent. In 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja removed two House of Representatives members and 18 Cross River State House of Assembly members from office after they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC without formally resigning from their original parties.

The court ruled that their defections violated constitutional provisions, reinforcing the legal argument for stricter regulations on party-switching among lawmakers.