No fewer than nine senators on Thursday announced their defection to the African Democratic Congress, a development that has further altered the political composition of the Senate.
Among the lawmakers who formally joined the party are Aminu Tambuwal; Enyinnaya Abaribe; Binos Yaroe; Victor Umeh; Tony Nwoye; Lawal Usman; Ogoshi Onawo; Austin Akobundu; and Ireti Kingibe.
Their letters of defection were read during Thursday’s plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
In his letter, Nwoye cited internal crises within the Labour Party as the reason for his decision to leave the party.
“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.
Responding after reading the letters, Akpabio welcomed the lawmakers to their new platform but rejected claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress was responsible for the latest wave of defections.
He noted that the lawmakers moved from different political parties, including the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party.
According to him, the defections were largely the result of internal challenges within the affected parties rather than interference by the ruling party.
The development highlights the ongoing political realignments within the 10th Senate, where lawmakers have continued to switch party affiliations amid internal disputes in several opposition parties.
With the latest changes, the All Progressives Congress maintains a commanding majority with 87 senators, while the Peoples Democratic Party now has seven members.
The African Democratic Congress, strengthened by the defections, also has seven senators in the chamber.
Other minority parties in the Senate include the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the New Nigeria People’s Party and the National Democratic Congress, each with one senator, bringing the total number of lawmakers in the chamber to 106.
Following the defections, both the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party currently have no representation in the Senate.