27 Reps change party affiliation as APC membership increases to 280
Twenty-seven members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday dumped their parties to pitch a tent with other political parties, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) gaining about 14 of
Twenty-seven members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday dumped their parties to pitch a tent with other political parties, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) gaining about 14 of the new members while losing two members.
With this development, the All Progressives Congress (APC) now has about 280 members in the House, while the People's Democratic Party, which still maintains the highest number of members among the opposition parties, now has 38 members.
The African Democratic Congress now has 15 members in the House, followed by the Labour Party with 12 members. The NNPP, which initially had 18 members, now has five members remaining in the House, while Accord and APP now have 2 members each.
At the inauguration on the 23rd of June, 2023, the APC had about 181 members, while the opposition parties had 179 members, with the PDP having about 115 members.
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The Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) gained 8 new members, the Accord Party gained two new members, the All Peoples Party (APP) gained two members, and the Labour Party gained one member.
House Deputy Spokesman, Phillip Agbese, is one of those who defected, dumping the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Labour Party, citing the protracted crisis in Benue state.
Agbese, the first Lawmaker elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, has dumped the party for the minority party.
Others whose letters of defection were read at plenary on Tuesday are Ademola Akani and Lanre Oladebo Omoleye (from PDP to Accord), Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP Imo), and Anthony Nwogu (LP- Imo) to Action Peoples Party.
House Deputy Minority Whip George Ozodinnobi led the defectors to the African Democratic Congress, leaving the Labour Party.
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Harris Uchenna (LP, Anambra), Yahaya Tongo (PDP, Gombe), Oluwaseyi Sowumi (LP, Lagos), Aliyu Mustapha Abdullahi (APC, Kaduna), who recently defected from PDP to APC, MANI Maishinko (PDP, Sokoto), Abdulsamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), and Umar Yusuf Yabo (PDP, Sokoto) all left their parties for the Africa Democratic Congress.
Mustapha Ghali Tijani, Mohammed Umar Shehu, Dankwa Idris, Hassan Shehu, Tanimu Yusuf, Mohammed Ciroma, Sani Madaki, and Tijani Jobe all left the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to join the APC.
Others who joined the APC are Ja’afaru Yakubu (PDP, Taraba), Sadiq Tafida (PDP, Taraba), Ibrahim Mohammed (PDP, Kebbi), and Hassan Shinkafi.
Sani Madaki, who was, until his defection, the Deputy Minority leader of the House, said his decision to leave the NNPP was a result of the protracted crisis in the party, leading to a series of court cases and what he discovered about the Kwankwasiyya movement.
He said the crisis in the party has divided its members along the line of supporters of the founders of the party and the former Kano state governor, Senator Raiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Ozodinnobi, on his part, said he was leaving the Labour Party due to the crisis in the party, which he said has affected the collective pursuit of a common agenda, adding that his decision to join the ADC will enhance his contribution to national development.
