A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benedict Etanabene has said that the gale of defections by lawmakers from opposition political parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was borne out of fear of losing their seats in the 2027 general elections.
Hon. Etanabene represents Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency in Delta State on the platform of the Labour Party.
Etanabene while featuring on a Channels TV programme, Politics Today on Friday said that the outcome of the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections has sent fear down the spine of the defected lawmakers.
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Earlier in the week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen had announced the defection of four lawmakers cutting across three states.
The lawmakers are Chinedu Okere (Owerri municipal/owerri north/Owerri west constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura federal constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar municipal/Odukpani constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo federal constituency of Edo).
Reacting to the defection, Hon. Etanabene called on the defected lawmakers to vacate their seats in line with the law.
“You were voted into office by this party and you’re now there, you now see the need to jump to another party.
“That matter does not need any explanation. They should have just packed their loads and left the assembly. That is the truth
Hon. Etanabene maintained that “There is no leadership crisis in the Labour Party,” to warrant the defection of the lawmakers.
He said that “If it is about those issues, I can tell you that the larger number of those who just left are people that believe in the leadership of Julius Abure.
“It is not only the Labour Party. I am expecting the trend from other opposition parties. What happened in Edo and Ondo is frightening to the extent that in 2027, it is going to be business as usual for APC. They have started thinking of positioning themselves.”