Sen. Ireti Kingibe

Nine senators from different political parties have defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in a move that is expected to reshape the balance of opposition forces in the Nigerian Senate.

The defections were announced during plenary after the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read their letters of resignation from their respective parties.

The lawmakers who joined the ADC include Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto South), Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (Nasarawa South), Binos Dauda Yaroe (Adamawa South), Austin Akobundu (Abia Central), and Lawal Adamu Usman (Kaduna Central), all of whom left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Others who joined the ADC are Ireti Kingibe (Federal Capital Territory), Victor Umeh (Anambra Central), and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North), who defected from the Labour Party, as well as Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), who left the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

In his letter, Tambuwal cited persistent internal crises and divisions within the PDP as the reason for his decision to leave the party.

However, the Senate leadership indicated that it would review the circumstances surrounding Abaribe’s defection and gave him one week to reconsider his position.

The defections significantly increase the ADC’s presence in the Senate and underscore ongoing political realignments within Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber.