The Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Frank Okiye and six other members, on Tuesday formally defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the floor of the House.
Okiye, who announced the defection at plenary, added that he had received letters from the six members, expressing their desire to decamp to the ruling party in the state so as to identify with the developmental strides of Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The speaker relied on what he called the division within the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as one of the reasons for their action.
Apart from the Okiye, other lawmakers who announced their defection to the PDP are Asoro Roland, Aluebhosele Ephraim, Ojiezele Sunday, Okhuarobor Henry, Okoduwa Emma and Marcus Onobun.
Recall that all 24 members of the House were elected on the platform of the APC.
However, as a result of a dispute, only nine members presented themselves for inauguration on June 17, 2019, when Governor Obaseki issued the proclamation order
The crisis peaked with Obaseki defected to the PDP while the remaining 14 members-elect on August 6, 2020, caused a retired Deputy Clerk of the House to inaugurate them at a private residence in Ugbor area of the Benin GRA.
Okiye and the defecting six members remained in the APC all through the electioneering campaigns and the election proper in September 19
