PDP Loses 107 Lawmakers in Defections Ahead of 2027 Elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost a total of 107 National Assembly members to defections, further shrinking its presence in both chambers.

On Wednesday, three senators formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), reducing the PDP’s Senate representation to 14, well below the 36 it held at the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023.

The House of Representatives also saw four members defecting from the PDP—three to the APC and one to the Accord Party—bringing the party’s lower chamber numbers down to 17 from an initial 102 lawmakers in 2023.

The latest Senate defectors include Amos Yohanna (Adamawa North), Aminu Iya Abbas (Adamawa Central), and Ikra Aliyu Bilbis (Zamfara North). This follows Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo of Rivers West, who defected to the APC the previous day.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio indicated that additional defections were underway, with letters from other senators notifying their intention to switch parties.

Banigo cited a desire to align with political mentors and support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, noting that she was motivated by the ongoing leadership crisis within the PDP and the need for a more stable political platform to serve her constituents.

In the House of Representatives, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced the PDP defectors to the APC as Inuwa Garba and Abdullahi Bashir of Gombe State and Mohammed Audu of Taraba State. Chinedu Obika of the Federal Capital Territory moved from the Labour Party to the APC, while Adewale Adebayo of Osun State defected to Accord.

The defecting lawmakers attributed their decisions to unresolved leadership disputes and internal crises within their former parties, emphasizing consultations with constituents and political associates before the move.

Following the defections, the APC now holds 84 Senate seats, up from 59 at the start of the 10th Senate, and 245 seats in the 360-member House, giving it a commanding two-thirds majority across the National Assembly.

The changes have further diminished the opposition’s capacity to influence legislation, coordinate oversight functions, or negotiate committee leadership positions.

The political shifts also follow the earlier defections of former PDP and Labour Party presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to the African Democratic Congress, signaling evolving alliances ahead of the 2027 general elections.