The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday sparked reactions in the Red Chamber after joking that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was effectively “dead” following a series of defections by lawmakers.
Akpabio made the remark while presiding over plenary, shortly after the Senate formally announced the defection of several members to other political parties, including the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Labour Party.
Among those who recently switched allegiance is Victor Umeh, who moved to the NDC, citing internal crises and what he described as “unending litigation” within the ADC.
Reacting to the growing number of defections, Akpabio said lawmakers leaving the ADC should consider submitting their notices collectively rather than individually.
“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, drawing mixed reactions from senators.
In a lighter tone, the Senate President questioned the frequency at which some lawmakers change political parties.
“How many times can you defect in a month? Once. But some have done three times,” he added, prompting laughter in the chamber.
Akpabio further suggested a more coordinated system for handling defections to avoid what he described as a “daily ritual” of announcements on the Senate floor.
“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, the Senate President also read a defection letter from Enyinnaya Abaribe, highlighting his movement across multiple parties in recent years.
“Note that Senator Abaribe has moved from APGA to ADC, and now he has moved from ADC to Labour Party,” Akpabio noted, adding jokingly that such announcements may no longer be read individually in future plenaries.
