The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State has called on the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) to immediately conduct by-elections to fill all 260 councillorship seats in the state that became vacant following the mass defection of the councillors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on October 14, 2025.
In a press release signed by Ichie Ezechinyelugo, Dr. Godwin Udibe, Ph.D, FCE, Caucus Chairman, and Hon. Chief Barr. John Nwobodo (JP), Caucus Secretary, the PDP described the continued stay in office by the defected councillors as illegal and unconstitutional.
Citing Section 24 (1)(d) of the Local Government Law No. 13 of 2020, the party emphasized that:
“A member of a Local Government Council shall vacate his seat in the Council, (d) being a person whose election was sponsored by one political party, he resigns from that party or becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which the Local Government Council was elected.”
The PDP insisted that by defecting to another political party, the councillors automatically forfeited their positions. It further announced its decision to institute legal action to restrain the Enugu State Government from further payment of salaries to the affected councillors, describing such payments as a “wasteful expenditure of public funds.”
“In order to forestall wasteful spending of public funds on erstwhile Councillors, we shall immediately approach the Court to seek an order restraining the Government from paying salaries to the Councillors,” the statement read.
The Enugu PDP reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law and urged ENSIEC to act swiftly to uphold democratic integrity and restore lawful representation at the grassroots level.