Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday stirred reactions in the National Assembly after joking that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) had effectively collapsed, following a fresh wave of defections by lawmakers to other parties.
Akpabio made the remark while presiding over plenary, shortly after the Senate announced the defection of several lawmakers, including Victor Umeh, who joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), citing internal crises and “unending litigation” within the ADC.
“Resignation from ADC and declaration for Labour 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 reactions in the chamber.
Maintaining a lighthearted tone, the Senate President also questioned the increasing frequency of party defections among lawmakers.
“How many times can you defect in a month? Once. But some have done three times,” he laughed.
He went further to suggest a more coordinated approach to handling defections 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 added.
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During the session, Akpabio also read a letter from Enyinnaya Abaribe, highlighting his movement across political parties in recent years.
“Note that Senator Abaribe has moved from APGA to ADC, and now he has moved from ADC to Labour Party,” he said, before joking that future announcements might no longer be handled individually.
The remarks come amid a broader political shake-up in the National Assembly, where no fewer than 16 members of the House of Representatives have also defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Among those who switched parties are Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, and several others, reflecting growing unrest within the ADC.
In his resignation letter presented on the Senate floor, Umeh attributed his exit to ongoing instability within the party.
He cited “lingering divisions in the leadership and unending litigation” in the ADC, saying the situation made continued membership untenable.
“I remain committed to making my contributions towards the development of our dear nation, but this time through the NDC,” he wrote.