The Deputy Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Obasi Odefa, has said he is still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party despite intimidation and harassment for him to join the All Progressives Congress.
“You may recall that for over one year now when the executive governor of our dear state, Chief David Nweze Umahi, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, there have been speculations around where some of us belong to political party-wise,” he stated.
The lawmaker stated this during a press briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital, on Saturday, adding that it would be an act of ingratitude to leave the PDP, which made him what he is currently.
He said, “The constitution also spells out in clear terms the conditions that can engender defection from a political party on whose platform one is elected to another political party.
“Also, it is a well established legislative tradition and convention that a lawmaker, who wishes to defect from his political party to another political party, is required to formally write to the Speaker of the House informing him or her and other lawmakers in plenary of such a decision. It is on record that I have never taken this decision and no such letter has ever been read on the floor of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
“Consequently, this press briefing is to unequivocally state that I have remained a loyal party man and that is not about to change any time soon.
“My party, the Peoples Democratic Party, from the ward, local government, state and at the national levels remains at peace, united and does not in any way present the avenue that could engender my defection from the party to another political party.
“Also, I am a major beneficiary of the benevolence and good standing of the PDP. In fact, I am the most privileged lawmaker in the history of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, having been elected into the House for a record four terms, all on the solid platform of the PDP.
“I do not have any moral grounds or justification to abandon the party that has been so good to me. More so, after extensive consultation with my constituents at different levels, my constituents have made it clear that they remain loyal to the PDP and want me to remain in the party as their representative. Of course, the democratic representation is all about the wishes of the people. After all, if I go against the wishes of my constituents, I may have failed the primary duty of a lawmaker and that will be a political hara-kiri.”
