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By Goli Innocent
Fresh political realignments hit the Senate on Thursday as nine lawmakers from different parties formally defected to the African Democratic Congress, further reshaping the balance of forces in the upper chamber.
Among those who announced their move are Aminu Tambuwal, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Victor Umeh, Tony Nwoye, Binos Yaroe, Lawal Usman, Ogoshi Onawo, Austin Akobundu and Ireti Kingibe.
Their defection letters were read during plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, formally confirming their exit from their former political platforms.
In his letter, Nwoye blamed internal wrangling within the Labour Party 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.
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“Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest esteem and regards.”
Reacting after announcing the defections, Akpabio dismissed suggestions that the ruling All Progressives Congress was behind the wave of defections.
“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.
“So, all of them have a problem. They’ve not been able to put their parties together. So, the APC cannot be blamed for this.
“They are all out to ensure that we have what you call a minority status in this chamber, and I am very proud of them.”
With the latest defections, the APC continues to hold a dominant majority in the Senate with 87 members, while the ADC’s presence in the chamber has grown significantly as political realignments continue ahead of future contests.
