37 PDP Reps defect to APC

Thirty-seven members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the House of Representatives ended months of speculation on Wednesday as they formally defected to the All Progressives Congress.

The development increased the numerical strength of the APC from 135  to 172. With this, it now has a simple majority in the House as the PDP now has 171 members.

Seventeen other lawmakers  are members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Labour Party, Accord Party and Peoples Party of Nigeria.

The APC had 137 members at a point but Mr. Bamidele Opeyemi, a member from Ekiti State, defected to the Labour Party, while Mr. Benjamin Aboho (Benue State) moved to the PDP.

This left the APC with 135 members before the 37 former PDP lawmakers joined the party.

Thirty-six of the 37 ex-PDP members came from four states (Kano, Rivers, Kwara and Sokoto), whose governors had earlier  defected to  the APC.

The 37th member (Dogara) came from Bauchi State.

Curiously, members from Adamawa State, whose governor (Murtala Nyako) had  also joined the APC, did not defect on Wednesday.

The defectors wrote a letter to the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, citing alleged “divisions and factions” in the PDP as their reasons for moving  to the APC.

The speaker read out the letter and the names of the defectors on the floor.

They stood up to acknowledge their decision to abandon the PDP amid cheers and clapping by the APC lawmakers.

The letter reads, “We, the undersigned members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the PDP, wish to inform you that we have joined the APC.

“This action is as a result of the division (factionalisation) in the political party that sponsored our election into the House of Representatives.

“Furthermore, we write to inform you that following this division, the faction of the PDP, which we belong to, has formally merged with the APC. Read more