Defection by politicians is for selfish interest, former NBA Vice Chairman opines

The ongoing gale of defection that has beclouded the country’s political scene has been described as a selfish motive by politicians to protect selfish interest rather than national interest.

The opinion was expressed by one time Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Bauchi state, Barrister Aniekan Mendie, while fielding questions from newsmen stating that defections that are done not within the context of the constitution are for selfish reasons.

He said that even though defection within the political system is an offshoot of the exercise of freedom of association as enshrine in Section 40 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which include political association, political parties to be specific, “If you are an elective candidate of a political party either in the state assembly or National Assembly, you will exercise your freedom to defect from one party to other pursuance to section 68 sub-section 1 of the constitution.”

“Also, Section 68 sub-section 1 of the constitution of Nigeria allows for the defection of a successful member who won an election on a political party platform to defect from that party or another where there is a division or where that has lost its nomenclature by reason of merger with another party. Then you can say oh I was in APC and APC now has merged with another party, I don’t understand the merger again and I am moving to another party, that I can understand so you can join,” he further explained.

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The legal practitioner also said that “So, I believe people who defect without reasons as outlined under our constitution are empty politically in terms of ideology. They do not have an ideology, they do not have an ideological discipline that is why they are moving from one party to the other just to protect their selfish interest.

“If you look at the former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, who recently defected and still he did not carry his people along. My opinion is that he is going to the APC just to protect his selfish interest because he has been a two-term Governor of Akwa Ibom State on the PDP platform, now he defected to APC.”

He added that “he is doing so just because he said one of his reasons is that the national leadership of the party has now been given to the sitting Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki. That is not the reason outlined in section 68sub-section 1 as one of the reasons to defect. What I will think is that he has defected just to fulfil his personal interest.”

“But I will advise the electorate in Akwa Ibom State to remain calm and not join or move out of the party just because of persons, but they should do so just because of their conviction in party’s ideologies. Don’t follow an individual follow your party’s belief; that ideology the party is having to offer to the public because some defectors will not even see what they want. The electorate are gaining some education now and such education will determine the voting pattern such that if a sitting Senator or any member of the parliament or whoever defects, his hope may be dashed,” he said.