By Peter Omopo
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe (SAN), has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no constitutional authority to declare the seat of any governor vacant over defection from one political party to another.
Osigwe stated this while reacting to public calls by Kenneth Okonkwo, a Nollywood actor and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who urged INEC to declare the seat of Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, vacant following his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) earlier in the week.
Governor Diri had on Wednesday announced his resignation from the PDP during an expanded State Executive Council meeting at the Government House, Yenagoa. The meeting was attended by the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, his deputy, Michael Ogbere, and the Minority Leader, Edward Brigidi, among others.
The governor cited “obvious reasons” for his decision, sparking speculation that he may be heading to the All Progressives Congress (APC). His defection came barely 24 hours after his Enugu State counterpart, Peter Mbah, and three members of the House of Representatives also left the PDP for the APC.
In a post on Instagram, Okonkwo argued that Diri had automatically forfeited his office by leaving the PDP, citing Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which stipulates that a person shall be qualified for election as governor if he is “a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party.”
He urged INEC to declare the Bayelsa governorship seat vacant and conduct a fresh election within 90 days.
However, Osigwe dismissed Okonkwo’s argument as “baseless and unconstitutional,” stressing that INEC lacks the power to remove any member of the executive — including the President, Vice President, Governor, or Deputy Governor — for changing political parties.
He cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Atiku Abubakar v. Attorney-General of the Federation (2006), where the court held that the constitutional provision on the loss of seat due to defection applies only to legislators, not to members of the executive arm.
“In 2006, when then-Vice President Atiku Abubakar defected from the PDP to the Action Congress, President Obasanjo attempted to declare his office vacant. The matter went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that defection does not apply to the executive. The same principle still holds today,” Osigwe explained.
He noted that the law remains settled, yet continues to generate needless controversy.
“Here we are in 2025 still debating what the Supreme Court has long resolved. The Constitution does not provide for the removal of a governor because he switched parties. A governor can defect 50 times, and there will still be no legal ground to declare his seat vacant,” Osigwe added.
The NBA President urged Nigerians and political commentators to avoid misinterpretations that waste “judicial and journalistic time,” insisting that the constitutional position on the matter is “clear, settled, and unambiguous.”
