Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday said the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was effectively dead, as a fresh wave of defections swept through the National Assembly and sent lawmakers to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Labour Party (LP).
Akpabio made the remark during plenary after the Senate formally announced several defections, including that of Victor Umeh, who said he was leaving the ADC over internal disputes and what he described as “unending litigation” in the party.
“Maybe all those defecting from ADC should just compile everything in one paper and bring, so that we don’t keep announcing, announcing, announcing.
“Because I think ADC is dead,” Akpabio said, drawing laughter and reactions in the chamber.
He added, in a lighter tone, that repeated party switching had become excessive.
“How many times can you defect in a month? Once. But some have done three times,” he said.
Akpabio suggested a more orderly process for handling defections, saying lawmakers should submit their moves in batches rather than have each one read individually on the Senate floor.
“So that it doesn’t look like a daily ritual. If you are defecting from Labour, you write all of you. If you are moving from ADC, you write all of you. If you are entering NDC, you write all of you,” he said.
During the sitting, the Senate president also read a letter from Enyinnaya Abaribe, noting his previous moves between parties.
“Note that Senator Abaribe has moved from APGA to ADC, and now he has moved from ADC to Labour Party,” Akpabio said.
The comments came amid broader political realignments in the legislature, with at least 17 members of the House of Representatives also leaving the ADC for the NDC.
The lawmakers, announced on the floor of the lower chamber, include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi and Lilian Orogbu, among others.
In his resignation letter, Umeh cited divisions in the party’s leadership and ongoing litigation as reasons for his departure.
He said he remained committed to national development, but would now pursue that goal through the NDC.
