Legal analyst Liborous Oshoma has raised concerns about the growing trend of elected politicians, especially governors, switching parties after winning elections. Speaking during an interview with News Central TV, Oshoma pointed to the recent defection of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as an example of this troubling pattern.
He explained that Nigeria’s current constitution does not allow independent candidates. This means that politicians contest and win elections under the name and platform of a political party. In such cases, it’s the party that is officially recognised as the winner, not just the individual. Therefore, Oshoma believes it is wrong for any politician to take the mandate given through one party and shift it to another after winning.
He said although the constitution may not clearly forbid such defections, it should be interpreted with common sense. The drafters of the Constitution never intended for politicians to freely abandon their parties after securing power. According to him, when leaders say they are defecting because of “the people,” it is often just selfish political interest.
On the Rivers crisis, Oshoma suggested that with Fubara’s recent move to the APC, Wike may be losing control and influence in the state’s politics. He concluded by saying Nigerians will have to wait and see how the situation unfolds from here.
In his words, “I think with this detection, maybe Wike might just have come to his wits’ end and then will see how it plays out from now.”
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