The Office of the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly has defended the declaration of the Udu State Constituency seat as vacant, saying the decision was made in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The Speaker’s office was reacting to comments by former Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, who criticised the Assembly’s decision to declare the seat vacant following the defection of the lawmaker representing Udu State Constituency, Collins Egbetamah.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Nkem Nwaeke, the Assembly said its resolution was based on documentary evidence before the House and complied with Sections 109(1)(g) and 109(2) of the Constitution.

According to the statement, Section 109(1)(g) provides that a lawmaker elected on the platform of a political party shall vacate the seat upon joining another political party before the expiration of the tenure, except where there is a division in the political party that sponsored the election.

The Assembly maintained that the Constitution empowers the Speaker to declare the seat vacant once the constitutional conditions have been satisfied.

It added that the House acted on the resignation and defection letter submitted by the lawmaker.

“The resolution on the Udu seat was reached after due consideration of documentary evidence before the House, in strict compliance with Sections 109(1)(g) and 109(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” the statement read.
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The Speaker’s office also rejected claims that the decision was arbitrary or politically motivated, arguing that the Constitution does not require a court judgment or legislative hearing before the Speaker acts once the relevant facts have been established.

“The Constitution does not require a judicial determination or a legislative hearing before the Speaker gives effect to Section 109(2) once the factual condition is met and no constitutional exception is established,” the statement added.

The Assembly said its action was not intended to deny the people of Udu representation but to ensure that the constituency is represented through the constitutional process.

It explained that the directive to the Clerk of the House to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission was to enable the conduct of a by-election in accordance with Section 116(2) of the Constitution.

The Speaker’s office further stated that any party dissatisfied with the decision was free to seek judicial redress.

“Should any party feel aggrieved, the courts remain the ultimate arbiter of constitutional interpretation. The Delta State House of Assembly has full confidence in the judiciary and welcomes judicial review of its action,” the statement said.

The Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law, constitutional democracy and the discharge of its legislative responsibilities.

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The Federal Government has confirmed plans to replace the National Youth Service Corps’ traditional khaki uniform with locally produced Adire fabric as part of ongoing reforms aimed at repositioning the scheme.

The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, saying the move was intended to promote local manufacturing and ensure government spending supports the Nigerian economy.

“It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country,” he said.
File: Corps members

Olawande also said corps members would increasingly be posted according to their fields of study under the new framework, explaining that graduates with education qualifications, for instance, would be deployed to schools rather than being posted without consideration for their professional backgrounds.

“After you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to a school just because NYSC wants you to be in school but because of the process you followed when in camp. So, that is going to give a framework of where you are going to be posted to,” he said.

On security, the minister said the government was considering posting prospective corps members to regions where they studied and were already familiar with the environment, particularly in areas facing security challenges.
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According to him, the arrangement would reduce concerns among parents and prospective corps members while making the deployment process more practical.

“If you have interest that you want to go to the North-East why not, but if you don’t have interest, instead of redeploying you, paying people for camp, doing all those funny things, we said no, let us look at it and say who are those in that area, that can reside in those geographical areas and still give us the kind of number we are looking for since we are saying NYSC should be more impactful. So, that is what we are talking about,” he said.

The minister also dismissed reports suggesting the military would be removed from the NYSC, describing such claims as a misconception.

The reforms followed the approval by the Federal Executive Council on Monday of a comprehensive overhaul of the NYSC, the first major reform of the scheme since its establishment in 1973.

Under the approved reforms, the Federal Executive Council directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act and its regulations to accommodate the changes.

The new framework provides that the scheme’s operational leadership will be headed by a civilian, while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members nationwide.