Kaduna Assembly’s Speaker Declares Seats of Defected Members Vacant

John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon. Aminu Shagalinku, wednesday declared vacant the seats of the former Deputy Speaker of the assembly, Hon. John Audu Kwaturu, and another lawmaker, Junaid Yakubu, who defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Kwaturu and Yakubu who represent Kachia and Kudan state constituencies respectively, had defected from the ruling party last Friday giving various reasons for their action.

Declaring their seats vacant on the floor of the assembly, Shagalinku maintained that the defection of the lawmakers was illegal and unconstitutional as there is no any faction or crisis in the APC at the state and national levels.

The Speaker said the declaration of their seats vacant was in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

But in a reaction, Kwaturu described the action of the speaker as undemocratic and unconstitutional, vowing to use all constitutional means to stop it.

In a telephone interview with THISDAY, Kwaturu, who resigned his position as the Deputy Speaker last Tuesday, said he arrived at the assembly when the sitting was over as he was preparing to handover the official car of the deputy speaker and other things in his possession.

“I defected from the APC on Friday and I tendered my resignation as the Deputy Speaker on Tuesday. I arrived at the assembly late because I was preparing the official car and other property of the office of the Deputy Speaker in my possession to hand over them since I had resigned from the position.

“My defection is in accordance with the provisions of the constitution because the APC is factionalised. We have this one called Reformed APC.

Many people have defected from the APC as a result of the faction in the party, especially in Kaduna State.
“In Kaduna State, we have three factions of the party, we have APC Akida, Restoration Group and Government House faction and that is the reason for my defecting.”

“I am appealing to well meaning Nigerians to intervene in this matter. I have not been officially informed that my seat has been declared vacant, but as soon as I get official communication, I shall go to my people who elected me and we will take appropriate legal and constitutional steps to address the issue” Kwaturu said.

Kwaturu also accused Governor Nasir El-Rufai of allegedly masterminding the declaration of his seat vacant.
Meanwhile, the House has unanimously elected, the former Chairman House Committee on Information, Hon. Nuhu Goro Shadalafiya as the new Deputy Speaker.

Shadalafiya represents Kagarko constituency in the House.