Edo Speaker, six others dump APC (Full list)

Edo State Speaker, Rt. Hon. Frank Abumere Okiye and six other members of the state House of Assembly, on Tuesday officially defected from APC to PDP.

OnyxNews Nigeria reports that Okiye who announced the defect at plenary session added that he had received letters from the six members including himself, expressing their desires to decamp to the ruling party in the state so as to identify with the developmental strides of Governor Godwin Obaseki to move Edo State forward.

The speaker relied on what he called the sharp divisions and factions in the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state as one of the reasons they decided to go ahead to PDP, to enable them perform their duties effectively as representative of their constituencies.

Those who officially defected include: Rt. Frank Okiye, Hon. Asoro Osadebamwen Roland. Hon. Aluebhosele Ephraim; Hon. Ojiezele Osezua Sunday; Hon. Okhuarobor Henry. Hon. Okoduwa Emma and Hon. Marcus Onobun.

Recall that all the 24-member house were elected on the platform of the APC.

However, crisis ensued when only nine members presented themselves for inauguration on June 17, 2019, when Governor Obaseki issued the proclamation for the house to convey.

The crisis rocked into Obaseki himself causing him to dump APC while the remaining 14 members-elect on August 6, 2020, caused a retired Deputy Clerk of the house to inaugurate them at a private residence in Ugbor, Edo state.

Okiye and the defecting six members remained in the APC all through the electioneering campaigns and the poll in September 19, 2020.