Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has strongly condemned the Delta State House of Assembly’s decision to declare the seat of Udu State Constituency lawmaker, Hon. Collins Egbetamah, vacant, describing the action as unconstitutional, politically motivated and a violation of due process.
In a statement issued on Wednesday July 1, 2026, Omo-Agege argued that the Assembly acted without affording Egbetamah a fair hearing, insisting that the move was “hasty, arbitrary, oppressive and illegal.”
According to the former Deputy Senate President, the declaration was aimed at achieving a political objective at the expense of the constitutional rights of the lawmaker and the people of Udu State Constituency.
Omo-Agege challenged the Assembly’s reliance on Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), contending that the provision contains exceptions where a lawmaker defects from a political party due to internal divisions within the party.
He maintained that no legislative inquiry or judicial determination was conducted to establish whether such constitutional exceptions applied in Egbetamah’s case before the Assembly declared his seat vacant.
“The Constitution provides an exception where a defection arises from a division in the original party. That question of fact was never examined in any legislative hearing, and there was no judicial determination,” he said.
The former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State further criticised the procedure adopted by the House, arguing that the mandate freely given to Egbetamah by the electorate could not be withdrawn through what he described as a voice vote conducted in a single sitting.
He asserted that denying the lawmaker an opportunity to defend himself amounted to a fundamental breach of constitutional safeguards and due process.
Drawing from his personal political experience, Omo-Agege recalled that a similar attempt had once been made to remove him during his tenure in the Senate but was overturned through judicial intervention, adding that such actions should not be allowed to recur in Nigeria’s democratic system.
The former Deputy Senate President also alleged that the Assembly’s decision was politically motivated, accusing the ruling party in the state of resorting to unconstitutional measures to discourage defections.
He argued that the action had deprived the people of Udu State Constituency of representation in the House of Assembly, despite their democratic mandate.
Omo-Agege called on the Delta State House of Assembly to immediately reverse its decision and accord Egbetamah the fair hearing he said was denied.
He also urged the judiciary to expedite any legal challenge arising from the matter to ensure that the people of Udu State Constituency are not left without representation.
The Delta State House of Assembly had on Tuesday declared Egbetamah’s seat vacant following his reported defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), a decision that has continued to generate legal and political debate over its constitutional validity.
