In a significant political shake-up, four Labour Party members of the House of Representatives have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announced the defections during Thursday’s House session.
The Labour Party lawmakers who switched allegiance include Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency, Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency, Edo).
Additionally, Rep Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of former Delta State Governor James Ibori, moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
The minority whip, Ali Isah JC (PDP-Gombe), called for the seats of the defected lawmakers to be declared vacant, citing Section 68(1) of the Nigerian Constitution.
However, the Speaker countered, arguing that the cited section was incomplete and did not justify such action.
Rep Mathew Donatus, who famously won his seat in 2023 as a commercial motorcycle rider, defended his defection, stating it was based on personal conviction rather than unanimous support from his constituency.
The Labour Party’s impressive rise in the 2023 elections, bolstered by Peter Obi’s presidential campaign, cemented its position as Nigeria’s third-largest political party.
However, these defections mark a notable shift in the party’s federal legislative representation.
