Nine Senators defect to ADC

Abdullateef Fowewe

Nine senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reshaping the Senate’s opposition landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The defections were formally announced during Thursday’s plenary session, where Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the lawmakers’ letters on the chamber floor.

“We have received letters of defection from nine distinguished senators,” Akpabio stated.

The PDP defectors include Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto South), Binos Dauda Yaroe (Adamawa South), Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (Nasarawa South), Lawal Adamu Usman (Kaduna Central), and Augustine Akobundu (Abia Central).

Labour Party senators Ireti Kingibe (FCT), Victor Umeh (Anambra Central), and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North) also switched allegiances, alongside APGA’s Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South).

Several lawmakers pointed to “internal crises and divisions” in their former parties as the driving force.

Tambuwal’s letter reportedly highlighted “irreconcilable differences that hinder effective representation,” while Kingibe cited the LP’s “ongoing leadership turmoil” as eroding party unity.

The Senate responded cautiously to Abaribe’s move, granting him a one-week window to reconsider due to constitutional concerns.

“The justification in Senator Abaribe’s letter raises issues under Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution,” Akpabio noted during proceedings.