Twenty seven members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday dumped their political platforms for new ones ahead of the 2027 elections.
A breakdown of the number shows that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC got about 14 new members, losing two to the Labour Party, LP and African Democratic Congress, ADC respectively. Meanwhile, the ADC, received eight new members, five from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and two from the Labour party and one from the APC.Accord Party and Action People’s Party got two each while LP got one.
The Speaker of the House,Dr. Tajudeen Abbas while reading the various letters of defection explained that the defecting lawmakers blamed the development on political disagreements in their parties.
House Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinnobi led the LP defectors to the ADC, giving the opposition coalition its first principal officer in the National Assembly.
Ozodinnobi told lawmakers that the crisis in the LP has affected the collective pursuit of a common agenda, adding that his decision to join the ADC will enhance his contribution to national development.
Other members who joined the ADC include Harris Uchenna (LP, Anambra), Yahaya Tongo (PDP Gombe), Oluwaseyi Sowumi(LP, Lagos), Aliyu Mustapha Abdullahi (APC Kaduna), Mani Maishinko (PDP, Sokoto), Abdulsamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) and Umar Yusuf Yabo (PDP, Sokoto)
For the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, the House Deputy Minority Leader, Sani Madaki led his fellow members to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Madaki explained that the crisis in the party, which has resulted in series of court cases has divided its members with some supporting former Kano state governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and others pitching tent with another faction.
The Kano NNPP members who joined Madaki in the APC include Mustapha Ghali Tijani, Mohammed Umar Shehu, Dankwa Idris, Hassan Shehu, Tanimu Yusuf, Mohammed Ciroma, Sani Madaki, and Tijani Jobe
Other lawmakers who joined the APC are Ja’afaru Yakubu (PDP, Taraba), Sadiq Tafida (PDP, Taraba), Ibrahim Mohammed (PDP, Kebbi) and Hassan Shinkafi.
Lawmakers who left their political platforms to different parties include Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP to APP), Matthew Nwaogu (LP to APP), Ademola Akani and Lanre Oladebo Omoleye ( PDP to Accord)
The development has further given the APC a boost as the number of lawmakers on its platform stands at 280 while the Peoples Democratic Party maintains the highest number of members in the among the opposition with 38 members.
Fifteen members are now on the platform of the ADC followed by the LP with 12 members, NNPP has 5, while Accord and APP have 2 members each.
