BREAKING: Tambuwal, Abaribe, Umeh, six others join ADC in Senate shake-up
No fewer than nine senators from different political parties on Thursday announced their defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reshaping the political composition of the Senate. Their letters of defection were read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The lawmakers who joined the party include the senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Tambuwal; Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South); Binos Yaroe (Adamawa South); Victor Umeh (Anambra Central); Tony Nwoye (Anambra North); Lawal Usman (Kaduna Central); Ogoshi Onawo (Nasarawa South); Austin Akobundu (Abia Central); and Ireti Kingibe (Federal Capital Territory).
Reacting after reading the letters, Akpabio welcomed the lawmakers to their new political platform but rejected claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress was responsible for the defections.
According to him, the senators defected from different opposition parties, including the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party, indicating internal challenges within those parties.
“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, SDP and all of them. They have not been able to put their parties together, so the APC cannot be blamed for this,” Akpabio said.
The latest defections highlight the continuing political realignments in the 10th Senate, where lawmakers have repeatedly switched party allegiances amid crises within opposition parties. Following the defections, the APC retains a dominant majority in the chamber with 87 senators, while the Peoples Democratic Party now has seven members.
The ADC, strengthened by the new entrants, also has seven senators, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the New Nigeria People’s Party and the National Democratic Congress each have one senator, bringing the total membership of the Senate to 106.
The Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party currently have no representation in the Senate after the latest defections.
