Enugu State House of Assembly
6 Enugu Assembly members dump LP, defect to ruling PDP
Six Labour Party (LP) lawmakers of the Enugu State House of Assembly have officially defected to the state’s ruling, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
They made their defection known on Thursday in Enugu in a letter read by the Speaker, Chief Uche Ugwu, during plenary.
The defectors include; the Majority Leader, Mr Johnson Ani (Enugu North); the Chief Whip, Mr Ejike Eze, (Igbo-Eze North 1); and the Deputy Chief Whip, Ms Princess Ugwu (Enugu South Rural).
Others are Mr Pius Ezugwu (Nsukka East); Mr Williams Amuka (Igbo-Etiti West); and Mr Osita Eze (Oji River).
The defectors, in the letters, said their defection was as a result of the existence of irreconcilable division, incessant crisis within the Labour Party at the national level and across all the state chapters.
They regretted that the party had evolved into perpetual discord with various factions embroiled in legal battles, which undermine its ability to effectively serve the interest of the people.
According to them, the Labour Party, once considered a beacon of hope for progressive ideas, have regrettably become synonymous with internal squabbles, thereby reducing its capacity to fulfil the aspirations of electorate.
They cited the cases of Mr Julius Abure and Mr Limidi Apapa factions and as the party’s national treasurer as some of the divisions within the party, even as they further expressed the hope that the PDP would give them the platform to continue to serve the interests of their people and thanked the leaderships of Labour Party for their support.
The Speaker welcomed the defectors into the PDP and promised that they would be carried along in the legislative activities of the House.
With the defection, the PDP now has the majority in the House with 17 members while LP has only six members.
