Cross River Assembly Declares APC Member’s Seat Vacant

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

The Cross River State House of Assembly has declared the seat of the member representing Obubra II state constituency in the House, Mr. Elucate Okora Ekom, vacant.

The Speaker of the House, Mr. John-Gaul Lebo, declared the member’s seat vacant on Friday, saying that the affected lawmaker had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

During plenary on Friday, the speaker had announced that Ekom had informed the Clerk of the House in writing that he had formally defected from PDP to the APC.

After reading the letter from Ekom, who attended the day’s sitting, the speaker read some sections of the Nigerian constitution which he said mandated him to declare the APC member’s seat vacant, inasmuch as there was no valid court order to make such declaration.

At the end of the day’s sitting, the speaker told journalists why the House declared the seat of the APC member vacant.

Details later…