Afam Osigwe faults INEC, saying it lacks constitutional power to declare any governor’s seat vacant over defection from one political party to another

Afam Osigwe, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), asserting that the electoral body lacks the constitutional authority to declare the seat of any governor vacant due to party defection.

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Osigwe’s clarification follows public calls by African Democratic Congress chieftain and Nollywood actor Kenneth Okonkwo, who urged INEC to declare the Bayelsa State governorship seat vacant after Governor Douye Diri resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Diri’s resignation, announced at a State Executive Council meeting in Yenagoa, fuelled speculation about his likely move to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor attributed his decision to “obvious reasons”, a statement that has since stirred political debate across the country.

Reacting to Okonkwo’s demand, Afam Osigwe described the call as “baseless and unconstitutional,” insisting that the law does not empower INEC to remove any member of the executive arm for defection.

“The Supreme Court settled this matter in Atiku v. Attorney-General of the Federation,” Osigwe said. “The constitutional provision on loss of seat due to defection applies only to members of the legislature — not the executive.”

He recalled how, in 2006, then–Vice President Atiku Abubakar retained his position after defecting from the PDP to the Action Congress, despite attempts by President Olusegun Obasanjo to declare his office vacant.

“Here we are in 2025 still debating what the Supreme Court has already settled. There is no provision in the Constitution allowing a governor to be removed for changing parties,” Osigwe emphasised.

The NBA president urged Nigerians to desist from politicising judicially resolved matters, stressing that INEC’s role is to conduct elections, not to unseat elected executives.

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“A governor can defect 50 times, and there is still no legal basis to declare his seat vacant,” he said firmly, calling for an end to “wasting judicial and journalistic time” on constitutional issues that are clear and unambiguous.