The Nigeria Democratic Congress in Delta State and former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege have strongly condemned the decision of the Delta State House of Assembly to declare the seat of Udu State Constituency lawmaker, Collins Egbetamah, vacant following his defection to the NDC.
Both parties described the action as unconstitutional, unjust, politically motivated, and a serious threat to democratic principles.
In a statement signed by the Delta State Publicity Secretary of the NDC, McCollins Nwose, the party accused the Assembly of applying double standards, noting that politicians who previously defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress retained their seats without facing similar sanctions.
The party said the decision amounted to an abuse of legislative powers and an attempt to silence opposition voices in Delta State.
According to the NDC, the mandate held by Egbetamah belongs to the people of Udu State Constituency and not to any political party. It argued that removing him from office over his defection undermines the will of the electorate and violates constitutional provisions.
The party also called on civil society organisations, democracy advocates, and the people of Delta State to reject what it described as a dangerous precedent and defend constitutional democracy. It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the democratic rights and mandate of the people.
Similarly, Omo Agege condemned the Assembly’s decision, describing the removal as “hasty, arbitrary, oppressive, and illegal.”
In a statement personally signed on Wednesday, the former senator said the House’s action was not constitutional but a politically driven move.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the reported decision of the Delta State House of Assembly to remove Hon. Collins Egbetamah, the duly elected representative of Udu State Constituency, without a fair hearing.
“This was not constitutional housekeeping. It was a hasty, arbitrary, oppressive, and illegal act intended to achieve a political objective that disparages and injures the people of Udu, the wider Urhobo nation, and Delta state.”
Addressing the legal basis cited by the House, Omo Agege argued that Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution does not apply without exception.
“The House relies on Section 109(1)(g) as if it admits of no exception. The Constitution provides an exception where a defection arises from a division in the original party.
“That question of fact was never examined in any legislative hearing. There was also no judicial determination. The matter was rushed because a process grounded in the constitutional right to a fair hearing would not have produced the House’s predetermined outcome,” he stated.
He further stressed that a legislative mandate cannot be terminated without giving the affected lawmaker a fair hearing, warning that bypassing due process amounts to tyranny.
“A mandate freely given by the people of Udu cannot be extinguished in a single sitting by voice vote. That is disturbing, disrespectful, and unacceptable. It was not the intendment of the framers of our constitution. We are not a Banana Republic,” Omo Agege said.
