PDP urges senate to declare Dariye’s seat vacant

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Central Senatorial zone of Plateau State have vowed to use all available legal means to recover the mandate given to Senator Joshua Dariye who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the senator lacked moral and constitutional right to defect without any justification.

Addressing journalists yesterday, the Vice Chairman of PDP, Plateau Central,  Hon. Benedict Shignuhul, berated Senator Dariye for his style of politics, adding that he did not consult the five local council areas in the senatorial zone before he defected.

According to Shignuhul: “He did not consult within the five local council areas in the zone before he defected. His defection to APC was a surprise to party members across the state. He cannot take us for granted, we shall explore all available legal and constitutional means to recover the mandate from him.”

He called on the Senate President Dariye’s seat vacant for jettisoning the platform, PDP that produced him for the APC, adding that the defection was unconstitutional and a rape of democracy, noting that his decision to leave the party was a unilateral decision taken by him.

Shignuhul said: “He did not consult any organ of the party. We therefore see his defection as an act of betrayal of trust. We, therefore, met at all relevant levels of the party in the state and hereby pass a vote of no confidence in Senator Joshua Dariye and, therefore ,can no longer have him as our representative in the hallow red chambers.”

He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to Nde Alexander Molwus who came second in the PDP primaries. The zonal vice chairman who said Dariye’s defection was a good riddance for bad rubbish said PDP in the zone would soon organise a rally to celebrate his exit but added that the mandate would be recovered from him by all available legal means.

He said, “We wish to however state that the Senator’s decision did not come to us as surprise. It has been in the rumour mill for several weeks that he had concluded plans to formally defect to the APC. Rumours abound that he had been promised a soft landing in his trial for corruption by the same APC government that pretends to be fighting corruption.

“While we wish him well in his pursuit, we wish to state that the PDP family in Plateau Central Senatorial District truly feels relieved that someone whom we have always held in high esteem but has never brought any benefit to the District is finally showing his true colours. Senator Dariye’s penchant for cross carpeting to further his personal interest as earlier articulated is well known. But rest assured that this time, he is going without any support as the people are tired of aiding him in his selfish and self serving pursuits.

“In view of the above, we want to place on record the collective and undivided support and appreciation of the PDP family in Plateau Central Senatorial District for the steps so far taken by the state EXCO of our great party to reclaim our mandate. We call on the Distinguished Senate President to urgently do the needful as requested by our party by declaring the seat being unlawfully occupied by Senator Dariye vacant.

“Fortunately, for us in the PDP, the Supreme Court has ruled in a number of cases including the recent judgment in respect of the Kogi State gubernatorial elections that votes lawfully scored during an election belong to the party and not the individual!”