The House appears to be amending Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution to require the official resignation from a political party before a National Assembly member can defect, along with other related provisions.
Clause 1 of the proposed bill seeks to amend Section 68(g) by inserting the following immediately after the word “elected”:
“68(1)(2) Provided that 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 acknowledgment of receipt, electronic mail, or other legally recognized means of documented transmission.”
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As stated in the bill’s explanatory memorandum, the legislation aims to ensure that an Election Tribunal delivers its judgment in writing within 60 days from the date the petition is filed.
The amendment seeks to enhance clarity, improve judicial efficiency, and promote the timely resolution of election disputes.
In Nigeria, there have been instances of lawmakers defecting from one party to another, sparking debates over the legality of such moves.
Human rights activist Femi Falana has argued that mass defections at the National Assembly are illegal, stating that any lawmaker wishing to defect must first resign and then seek election under their new party.
In 2022, a Federal High Court in Abuja removed two House of Representatives members and 18 Cross River State House of Assembly members for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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