Kwara Assembly Suspends Two Members Over Defection

The Kwara State House of Assembly declared the seats of two members, Saaba Gideon and Olusola Odetundun, vacant after they defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This decision was made during a plenary session on Tuesday, following a letter from APC Chairman Sunday Fagbemi, who invoked Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

Fagbemi argued that since Gideon and Odetundun were elected on the APC platform, they could not retain their seats after abandoning the party. House Leader Oba Mogaji supported this view, stating that the Constitution prohibits members from belonging to a different party than the one that sponsored them.

The Speaker, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, subsequently declared the seats vacant. The PDP, through its state Publicity Secretary Olusegun Adewara, condemned the Assembly's action as politically motivated, questioning the legitimacy of the process initiated by the APC chairman.