Delta Assembly Declares Udu Seat Vacant After Lawmaker Dumped APC

The Delta State House of Assembly on Tuesday declared the Udu Constituency seat vacant following the defection of Collins Ogbetamah from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The decision followed the reading of Ogbetamah’s resignation letter, dated June 19, by the Speaker of the Assembly, Dennis Guwor.

In the letter, Ogbetamah informed the House of his defection from the APC to the NDC.

Following deliberations, the Majority Leader, Emeka Nwaobi, cited relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and moved a motion declaring the seat vacant.

He also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by-election. The motion was unanimously supported by lawmakers before the Speaker declared the seat vacant.

Property Protection Bill Scales Second Reading

During plenary, the Assembly also passed the State Public and Private Properties Protection Amendment Bill for second reading.

The proposed amendment seeks to strengthen property protection, recover public assets, establish an enforcement task force and improve collaboration with security agencies.

Guwor referred the bill to the Joint House Committees on Housing, Urban Renewal, Lands and Survey, with a directive to submit its report before July 17.

The House also received the 2025 audited financial statements and reports of the state’s 25 local government areas from the Office of the Auditor-General for Local Government.

The Speaker referred the reports to the House Committee on Public Accounts for further consideration.