Banner Online News

A Legislative Circus in Asaba

On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the Delta State House of Assembly descended into a theatre of the absurd as Speaker Emomotimi Guwor, with theatrical righteousness, declared the seat of Hon. Collins Egbetamah (Udu Constituency) vacant for the unforgivable sin of defecting from the APC to the NDC .

The motion, moved by House Leader Emeka Nwaobi and seconded by Deputy Speaker Arthur Akpowowo, invoked Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution with all the solemnity of a judicial pronouncement. The Speaker directed the Clerk to inform INEC to conduct a by-election, declaring with gravitas: “I hereby declare the seat of the Honourable Member representing Udu State Constituency vacant with immediate effect” .

The Constitution: A Weapon of Convenience

How convenient! These same legislators, the Speaker included, now suddenly remember the existence of Section 109 when it suits their political vendetta.

The Constitution they brandish like a cudgel against Egbetamah is the same document they have collectively trampled upon. Section 109(1)(g) provides that a member shall vacate his seat if, having been elected on one party’s platform, he defects to another before tenure expires. The Supreme Court has affirmed this in multiple judgments, including Attorney General of the Federation v. Abubakar (2007) and Ifedayo Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly (2014), establishing that defection without legitimate party division leads to automatic loss of legislative membership .

The Uncomfortable Question

So where was this constitutional piety when Speaker Guwor and 21 other lawmakers defected en masse from the PDP to the APC?Where was the motion to declare their seats vacant when they abandoned the PDP, the very platform that sponsored their elections, to join the APC? The answer is glaring: They were beneficiaries of the same “sin” they now punish. The PDP won those seats, not the APC. Yet these lawmakers conveniently found a way to legitimise their own defection while denying Egbetamah the same courtesy.

Double Standards Laid Bare

· When we defect from PDP to APC, it’s perfectly legitimate (no constitutional crisis here!)
· When Egbetamah defects from APC to NDC, suddenly, it’s an offence punishable by immediate expulsion! The hypocrisy is not just rank; it is nauseating.

A Political Vendetta Dressed as Constitutional Fidelity

Political observers see this charade as revealing itself for what it truly is: a political witch-hunt. The panic in the Assembly betrays their fear of the growing popularity of opposition parties in Delta State. The panicky move is not about constitutional fidelity. This is about political survival.

The Stench of Dishonour

Right-thinking Deltans are watching with disgust. A legislative house that ought to be the bastion of constitutional governance has reduced itself to a kangaroo court dispensing selective justice. Egbetamah’s crime? Seeking political advancement in a party he believed in. His accusers’ crime? Exactly the same, but with the power to protect themselves.

The double standard is so egregious, so brazen, that it insults the intelligence of every Delta citizen. These lawmakers have shown that the Constitution is merely a tool, useful when it targets opponents, irrelevant when it exposes their own illegitimacy.

A Call to Conscience

INEC must not be complicit in this legislative farce. The Commission must examine the constitutional validity of every defecting lawmaker’s seat, including the Speaker’s, before conducting any by-election.

The people of Udu Constituency deserve better. Delta State deserves better. Nigeria demands that its lawmakers honour the Constitution equally for all, not selectively for political convenience.

Speaker Guwor and his co-travellers have earned their place in the annals of legislative infamy. Their shameless hypocrisy has brought dishonour to the Delta State House of Assembly and contempt upon the Constitution they swore to uphold.