ADC Surges Ahead of PDP in Senate with Defections from Tambuwal, Kingibe and Seven Others

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has officially taken on the role of the main opposition party in the Senate after nine senators defected from several parties to join its ranks.

With this shift, the ADC's total number of senators has increased to nine, while the ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), previously the leading opposition party, have decreased to seven.

During a plenary session on Thursday, nine senators from three different parties—the PDP, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the Labour Party (LP)—joined the ADC.

Reports indicate that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) now commands a total of 87 senators, followed by the ADC with 9 senators, the PDP with 6, Accord Party with 1, APGA with 1, NDC with 1, and NNPP with 1.

The Senate currently has three vacant seats due to the death of the respective senators from Nasarawa North, Enugu North, and Rivers South East.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read the letters from the defecting senators, who cited internal conflicts, leadership disagreements, and a commitment to strengthening democracy as influencers for their departures.

Among those who defected are Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (PDP, Sokoto South), Ireti Kingibe (LP, FCT), Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South), Binos Dauda Yar’Adua (PDP, Adamawa South), Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North), Lawal Adamu Usman (PDP, Kaduna Central), Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (PDP, Nasarawa South), Augustine Akobundu (PDP, Abia Central), and Victor Umeh (APGA, Anambra Central).

Additionally, Deputy Minority Leader Kamoru Olalere (PDP, Osun West) has now joined the Accord Party.

Senator Seriake Dickson from Bayelsa West, who had previously defected to the Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC) from the PDP, also made his move official on Thursday via a letter read on his behalf by the Senate President.

Prior to this wave of defections, the PDP was the prominent opposition party, holding 36 seats at the formation of the 10th Senate.

A political analyst, Dr. Jacob Ijayah, commented that with the recent reconfiguration in the Senate, ADC’s new status as the primary opposition party warrants them to have a minority leader.

He stated, "Typically, the minority leader is selected from the party that holds the next highest number of seats following the majority party, making ADC eligible for this position now."

However, a source within the Senate mentioned that it is improbable for the current minority leader, Senator Abah Moro of the PDP, to be removed from his role due to his closeness with the Senate leadership.

One senator remarked to our reporter that with continuous defections, it may be premature to make immediate adjustments within the Senate at this point.

The senator expressed that the legislature would undertake the necessary course of action once the defection frenzy settles.

Notably, the defection of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe from the APGA has sparked contentious debates over the relevant constitutional provisions pertaining to his shift.

In his defection letter to Senate President Akpabio, Abaribe officially joined the ADC along with eight other senators.

While some of the other defectors cited internal strife within their former parties (PDP and LP), Abaribe faced inquiries about any existing crisis within APGA that could justify his defection.

Under the directives of Senate President Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin invoked Senate rules to challenge Abaribe's shift, referencing that APGA is not in a state of crisis or division at the national level.

Jibrin remarked, "Upon reviewing the defection letters, it is evident that one of the parties—APGA—is stable and not facing any national crisis."

He further stated, "According to Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, Abaribe’s defection appears to violate the law, necessitating the declaration of his seat as vacant."

The law stipulates that a senator must vacate their seat if they change party allegiance before the expiration of their elected term, unless due to a split in their original party.

In response, Abaribe acknowledged that APGA is not experiencing a division but noted that he was expelled from the party in September 2025. He maintained that since the law mandates senators to belong to a political party, he opted to join the ADC.

Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele argued that Abaribe’s purported expulsion from APGA last year further validates the grounds for his seat to be declared vacant.

Consequently, the Senate President granted Abaribe a week to retract his defection letter or provide additional legal justification for his move.

In a related development, 12 members of the House of Representatives also defected to new parties, marking a significant realignment in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

During the same plenary, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Okezie Kalu announced the separate letters of defection from the newly defected members.

Notable defectors from the Labour Party (LP) to the ADC include Victor Afam Ogene (Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Anambra State), Peter Aniekwe (Anambra East/West), and Lilian Orogbu (Awka North/Awka South).

Others making the switch from LP to ADC include Jesse Okey-Joe Onuakalusi (Oshodi/Isolo I, Lagos State) and Murphy Omoruyi (Ovia South-West/Ovia South- East, Edo State).

Peter Uzokwe, previously with the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and currently representing Udenu/Igbo-Eze North Federal Constituency, has also joined the ADC.

Furthermore, six lawmakers transitioned from the PDP to the ruling APC, which includes representatives from Adamawa, Borno, Edo, and Plateau states.

The defectors cited internal crises within their previous parties as their motivation for moving.

These recent political movements come as lawmakers strategically reposition themselves ahead of the approaching 2027 general elections.

The PDP's challenges in the Senate continued this week, with additional defections leading to a dwindling number of legislators from the party.

On Wednesday, three PDP senators—Amos Yohana (Adamawa North), Aminu Iya Abbas (Adamawa Central), and Ikra Aliyu Bilbis (Zamfara Central)—shifted allegiance to the APC.

On Tuesday, Ipalibo Banigo, senator representing Rivers West, also transitioned from the PDP to the APC.