Below is what Okoi Obono-Obla said of Senator John Owan-Enoh on his facebook page on January 27, 2016…
I gathered from the Political Rumour Mill in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja that Senator John Owan Eno representing Cross River Central District in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has concluded plans to defect the governing All Progressives Congress,APC any moment from now. The plan of the Senator Eno to defect may unconnected with his frosty relationship with Governor Ben Ayade recently which somewhat diminished his political relevance. It may also has to do with the recently lost of fortunes at the national and state levels that the PDP has suffered. Senator Eno was elected in 1999 as a member of the Cross River State House of Assembly to represent Etung State Constituency under the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party,APP but opportunistically defected to the Peoples Democratic Party. Let me say that the APC will not accept the defection of Senator Eno because he has no reason to defect. He is a Senator and the ChairOf the Finance Committee of the Senate, so let him remain in the PDP. In the event he defects some of us will surely challenge his defection in the Court of Law and seek for an Order declaring his seat vacant. Recently the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the celebrated case of Ifedayo Abegunde versus Action Congress of Nigeria ordered Ifedayo Abegunde a member of the house of Representatives representing Akure South/North Federal Constituency of Ondo State to vacate his seat following his defection from the Labour Party which sponsored his election to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.
The Supreme Court unanimously held that a legislator defection from the Party that sponsored his election to another could only be justified if there was a division in the national structures which incapacitated the Party that sponsored his election to function as a Political Party. The Supreme Court noted that the division or fractionalisation of the Ondo State chapter of the Labour Party cited by Abegunde as his excuse for abandoning his Party -Labour was only at the State level. The Supreme Court held that only a division that made it impossible or impracticable to function by virtue of the proviso to Section 68 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 justifies a legislator defecting from one party to another. It follows that Governor Ayade; the three Senators and Eight members of the House of Representatives or even the members of the Cross River State House of Assembly who are members of the PDP cannot take umbrage under a division in the State chapter of their Party to defect to APC otherwise they must vacant their seats. Some of us remained in the opposition for 16 years and built it into a formidable platform that swept away PDP in a electoral tsunami on the with March 2015 . We sacrifice tremendously and some paid the supreme price so I expect the likes of Senator Eno who benefited tremendously materially , financially , politically and economically to remain in PDP regardless .
Okoi Obono-Obla
Jan 27, 2016
