Nine Senators defect to ADC, alter party balance in Senate
Nine senators in Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly on Thursday defected from their respective political parties to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Their letters of defection were read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Among the defecting lawmakers is Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory. She left the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress.
Also joining the ADC is Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo of Nasarawa South, who resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Similarly, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto South), Binos Dauda Yaroe (Adamawa South), Austin Akobundu (Abia Central), and Lawal Adamu Usman (Kaduna Central) all left the PDP for the ADC.
Others who joined the party include Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), as well as Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North), both of whom resigned from the Labour Party.
In his defection letter, Nwoye cited the internal crisis in the Labour Party as the reason for his decision.
“I wish to tender my resignation amid the ongoing multiple litigations within the Labour Party, which have significantly affected the cohesion and stability of the party,” he wrote.
After reading the letters, Akpabio welcomed the senators to their new political platform and dismissed claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was responsible for the defections.
He said: “Deputy Senate President and Leader of the Senate, I hope you noticed that I have read defections from three different political parties now. So, you cannot accuse the ruling party of tampering with its leadership.
“Here, we have APGA, Labour, and SDP, and all of them have problems. They’ve not been able to put their parties together. So, the APC cannot be blamed for this.
“They are all out to ensure that we have what you call a minority status in this chamber, and I am very proud of them.”
The development reshapes the composition of the Senate by increasing the number of lawmakers under the ADC and altering the balance of power among political parties in the chamber.
The APC currently holds 84 out of the 109 seats in the Senate and also controls 31 of the 36 state governorships in the country as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections scheduled between January and February.
