The House of Assembly has declared the seats of two lawmakers representing Edu and Irepodun constituencies vacant following their defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The affected lawmakers are Hon. Saaba Issa Gedeon, representing Edu Constituency, and Hon. Olusola Odetundun, representing Irepodun Constituency.
The House took the decision following a request by the state chairman of the APC, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, who asked the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, to declare the seats vacant in accordance with Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. 
In a letter addressed to the Speaker, Fagbemi argued that the two lawmakers were elected into the Assembly on the platform of the APC and could not constitutionally defect to another political party while retaining their seats, particularly as there was no division or factional crisis within the APC.
The APC chairman maintained that the lawmakers had abandoned the party under whose platform they were elected and joined the PDP, thereby triggering the constitutional provision on defection.
The matter was subsequently brought before the House for consideration.
Leading the debate on the request, the Leader of the House, Hon. Oba Mogaji, described the issue as fundamentally a constitutional matter, adding that it should be treated in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
Mogaji referred specifically to Section 109(1)(g), which provides circumstances under which a member of a State House of Assembly may lose their seat after defecting from the political party on whose platform they were elected.
According to him, the constitutional provision makes it clear that a lawmaker cannot simply abandon the political party that sponsored his or her election for another party while retaining the legislative seat, where there is no recognised division within the original party.
The House Leader noted that both Gedeon and Odetundun had left the APC for the PDP and were now seeking to retain or return to their respective constituencies under the platform of the opposition party.
He argued that their actions were contrary to the constitutional provisions governing membership of the State House of Assembly.
Mogaji therefore supported the request by the APC chairman for the seats of the two lawmakers to be declared vacant.
Other members of the House also spoke in support of the motion.
Hon. Abolarin Ganiyu Gabriel, representing Ekiti Constituency, backed the request, arguing that the constitutional provision should be upheld.
Hon. Ganiyu Folabi, representing Omupo Constituency, also supported the declaration of the two seats as vacant.
Similarly, Hon. Adato Oguniyi, representing Ojomu/Balogun Constituency, spoke in favour of the vacation of the seats.
Following the debate and contributions by the lawmakers, the Speaker, Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, declared the seats representing Edu Constituency and Irepodun Constituency vacant, in line with the resolution of the House.
The decision effectively removes Saaba Issa Gedeon and Olusola Odetundun from the Kwara State House of Assembly as members representing their respective constituencies.
The development comes after the two lawmakers defected from the ruling APC to the PDP, setting the stage for their respective seats to become subject to the constitutional provision cited by the Assembly.
The Assembly’s action was based on the argument that the lawmakers were elected under the APC and that there was no division within the party capable of providing an exception to the constitutional restriction on defection.
The declaration means that the Edu and Irepodun constituencies are now without their elected representatives in the Kwara State House of Assembly, pending further developments in accordance with the law.
The Speaker’s declaration followed the House’s resolution after the lawmakers considered the request from the APC chairman and heard arguments from members in support of declaring the seats vacant.
