The Labour Party has said it is having difficulty serving court papers on the six members of the House of Representatives who dumped the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The leadership of the party lamented that the Reps were evading the service of the court papers in order to frustrate the suit filed by the LP, seeking to declare their seats vacant.
The development was revealed to newsmen on Thursday by the LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, and the party’s National Youth Leader, Kennedy Ahanotu,
The party’s legal battle aims to recover the seats of the six defected Reps and secure the refund of all salaries and allowances they have received as lawmakers.
In December 2024, Ajang Iliya, the member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency in Plateau State, announced his defection to the APC.
His defection raised the total number of lawmakers lost by the LP to six, joining Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), Iyawe Esosa (Edo), and Daulyop Fom (Plateau).
Iliya cited the crisis within the Labour Party and the need to align with the policies and developmental initiatives of President Bola Tinubu’s administration as reasons for his decision.
However, the party’s leadership dismissed these defectors as insignificant, describing them as “paper-weight politicians” who wouldn’t be missed by their supporters.
Speaking with newsmen, Ifoh expressed frustration over the evasive actions of the affected lawmakers, saying that after multiple failed attempts to serve court documents, the party would have no choice but to hand over the matter to the Clerk of the National Assembly and publish the names of the defectors in national newspapers.
He said, “But you know LP has taken one of our Ondo lawmakers to court in the past and he lost his seat. At that time, it was easy to get judgment. They are just going to the APC to waste their time as over half of them will not get return tickets. The remaining ones that get will lose the election. Those who may make it back to the National Assembly wouldn’t be more than two per cent.”
