Kenneth Okonkwo to INEC: Declare Douye Diri’s office vacant for resigning from PDP

Kenneth Okonkwo, former chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), says Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa, has effectively vacated his office following his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

On Wednesday, Diri announced his resignation from the PDP during a cabinet meeting at the government house in Yenagoa, without stating which party he would be pitching tent with next.

The governor said he left the opposition party for “very obvious reasons”.

Diri said members of his cabinet and the state house of assembly have also resigned from the PDP with him.

In a statement on Thursday Okonkwo cited section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that every elected government official must belong to a political party.

He argued that since Diri is currently not a member of any party, he has lost his seat as governor.

“Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has just vacated his seat as the Governor of Bayelsa State by resigning from the PDP and not belonging to any party,” he wrote.

“The position of the law is that every elected member of the government must be a member of a political party. (Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution) Gov Diri, being not a member of any political party, has lost his seat as governor.”

Okonkwo asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare Diri’s seat vacant since the governor is currently without party affiliation.

“An elected member of government can only defect from one party to another but cannot be partyless at any point in time,” he added.

“I, therefore, call on INEC to declare his seat vacant immediately and conduct a gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State within the next 90 days.”