ADC Camp Swells as Nine Senators Defect in Dramatic Senate Switch

By Emmanuel Kwada

In a stunning political realignment shaking Nigeria’s opposition landscape, nine senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) formally defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) today during plenary in the Senate chambers.

The defections, announced on the Senate floor, mark a significant boost for the ADC, which has rapidly emerged as a rallying point for disillusioned lawmakers from major opposition parties amid ongoing crises in the PDP and LP.

The senators who switched parties are:

1. Sen. Ireti Kingibe (FCT) – from LP to ADC
2. Sen. Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (Nasarawa South) – from PDP to ADC
3. Sen. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto South) – from PDP to ADC
4. Sen. Binos Dauda Yaroe (Adamawa South) – from PDP to ADC
5. Sen. Austin Akobundu (Abia Central) – from PDP to ADC
6. Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) – from APGA to ADC
7. Sen. Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) – from LP to ADC
8. Sen. Tony Nwoye (Anambra North) – from LP to ADC
9. Sen. Lawal Adamu Usman (Kaduna Central) – from PDP to ADC

This mass movement follows earlier individual defections, including Sen. Yaroe’s resignation from the PDP in February due to the party’s “fractured state” at the national level, and Sen. Kingibe’s prior shift from LP to ADC late last year.

Many cited internal divisions, leadership crises, and a desire to strengthen multi-party democracy as key reasons for joining the ADC.

The defections come at a time of heightened political fluidity in the National Assembly, with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also gaining from recent PDP exits in other instances. Today’s switch is seen as a major consolidation for the ADC, positioning it as a formidable third force ahead of future elections.