The defection of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, from the All Progressives Congress, APC, does not automatically mean that he should vacate the seat of the president.
This is because he was popular among majority of the legislators and not by virtue of his membership of the APC.
This is the position of a Lagos based lawyer, Mr. Goddy Uwazuruike.
The lawyer, in an exclusive interview with The Next Edition said as senate president, he was not representing his party.
Mr. Uwazuruike, who spoke exclusively to The Next Edition said the Senate would need two third of all the members to vote against him to effect his exit.
His words: “A legislator loses his seat if he defects to another party. But the constitution allows a legislator to defect if there is a split in the party. A split is a question of fact. A governor can defect at any time without any consequence. There is no legal restriction on the executive members on defection.
“A President of Senate is a senator elected by his colleagues by a simple majority. Nobody can impose a president by law. It is only a majority leader who represents a party. A senator from any party can be a president. To remove him, you need two third of all the members to vote in favour. So, Saraki can keep his seat.”
He explained further: “You can only remove a majority leader if he defects. The impeachment of a governor, deputy, president and his vice must follow strictly the provisions of 188 and 143 respectively of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Any deviation makes the exercise null and void and of no effect. The ready examples are the cases of Dariye, Ladoja, and Peter Obi.”
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Following the defection of Saraki recently, some legislators belonging to the APC called on him to resign from his post, having been elected on the platform of the party.
One of the APC senators who called for the removal of Saraki is Abu Ibrahim from Katsina South.
But in their reactions, two senators – Isa Hama Misau and Senator Rafiu Ibrahim representing Bauchi Central and Kwara South respectively – promised that there would be war if there was any attempt to force Saraki to resign.
The tension over Saraki’s presidency has continued to rise.
The Senate is expected to resume on September 25.