Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday drew laughter in the chamber after joking that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) had effectively collapsed following a series of defections by lawmakers across the National Assembly.
The comment came after the Senate formally received notices of party switches, including that of Senator Victor Umeh, who moved to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Umeh cited internal disputes and what he described as “unending litigation” within the ADC as reasons for his departure.
While presiding over plenary, Akpabio reacted to the repeated announcements of defections being read on the floor.
“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,” he said, prompting reactions from senators.
He went on to question the frequency of party changes among lawmakers.
“How many times can you defect in a month? Once. But some have done three times,” he added humorously.
Akpabio also suggested a more coordinated process for handling defection notices, urging lawmakers to submit them in groups rather than individually during plenary.
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“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 session, he also read out a letter from Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, noting his movement across political parties over time.
“Note that Senator Abaribe has moved from APGA to ADC, and now he has moved from ADC to Labour Party,” he said, adding that future announcements might not require individual reading on the floor.
The remarks come amid a wider wave of political realignment in the National Assembly, where at least 16 members of the House of Representatives have defected from the ADC to the NDC in recent weeks.
Among those affected are Uchenna Okonkwo, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, and Lilian Orogbu.
In his resignation letter, Senator Victor Umeh attributed his decision to “lingering divisions in the leadership and unending litigation” within the ADC, saying continued membership had become untenable.
“I remain committed to making my contributions towards the development of our dear nation, but this time through the NDC,” he stated.