26 House Of Reps Members Switch Parties
No fewer than 26 lawmakers formally defected from their respective parties on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The lawmakers cited internal crises, uncertainty and irreconcilable differences ahead of the next election cycle as reasons for defecting from their former parties.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announced the defections during plenary after reading letters from the affected members notifying the chamber of their decisions.
The defectors cut across major political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and others, with many finding new political homes in the APC and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Among the notable defections, the deputy spokesperson of the House, Philip Agbese (Benue), moved from the APC to the Labour Party, citing internal party crisis in his state.
Others include Aliyu Abdullahi (Kaduna), who defected from the APC to ADC; Akanni Clement (Osun), PDP to Accord; and Ikenga Ugochinyere (Imo), who moved from the PDP to the All Progressives Party (APP).
In a significant shift, Matthew Nwogu (Imo) also left the Labour Party for the APP, making both lawmakers among the first to join the party from the current Assembly.
Similarly, Deputy Minority Whip George Ozodinobi (Anambra) defected from the LP to ADC, alongside Uchenna Okonkwo (Anambra). Yahaya Tungo (Gombe), Seyi Sowunmi (Lagos), Mani Maishinko (Sokoto), Abdulsahmad Dasuki (Sokoto), and Umaru Yusuf (Sokoto) all moved from the PDP or LP to ADC.
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Mohammed Bassi (Adamawa) defected from the PDP to the APC.
A major political shift occurred within the Kano caucus, where several lawmakers elected on the platform of the NNPP defected to the APC.
Leading the group, the Deputy Minority Leader Aliyu Madaki (Kano) justified his defection by citing concerns over developments within the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Other Kano lawmakers who joined the APC include Mustapha Tijani, Mohammed Shehu, Idris Dankawu, Hassan Shehu, Rabiu Yusuf, Mohammed Chiroma, Garba Mohammed, and Tijani Jobe.
The PDP also recorded further losses, with Jafaru Yakubu (Taraba), Sadiq Tafida (Taraba), Ibrahim Mohammed (Kebbi), and Bello Shinkafi (Zamfara) defecting to the APC.
In Osun State, Lanre Oladebo left the PDP for the Accord Party.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
