Four members of the House of Representatives have defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a move that has sparked controversy and debate within the Nigerian political landscape.
According to reports, Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House, announced the lawmakers’ defection on the floor of the green chamber on Thursday. The lawmakers in question are Chinedu Okere (Owerri municipal/Owerri north/Owerri west federal constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura federal constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar municipal/Odukpani federal constituency of Cross River), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo federal constituency of Edo).
The lawmakers attributed their defection to an alleged crisis within the LP, a claim that has been met with skepticism by some of their colleagues. Abbas, however, congratulated the legislators, stating that they had “taken the right decision.”
