According to the report from the Punch, the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressive Congress, Prof Abdulkarim Kana differentiated between political and legal defections, emphasizing that while a politician may publicly announce their defection, it does not necessarily mean they have legally completed the process.
He explained that a political defection involves an individual publicly stating their move to another party, potentially causing commotion and confusion. He argued that many overlook these essential components of the legal defection process.
He said, "It is a position that is very clear. What people don’t understand is that there is a political defection and there is a legal defection. A person may politically defect and may not legally do so. A political defection is me coming out to say I have moved or defected to another party. I will go to the National Assembly to make noise, and raise dust here and there to create confusion.
But the thing is this: If I claim I have left the party, have I written a letter of resignation to intimate the party and have they accepted my resignation? That is number one.
Secondly, have I gone to my ward to register with the new party I joined and given a form of recognition? This is because the party constitution or the NEC can refuse to accept a person applying to be a member. These are all the stages that people are not taking into cognizance."