The Senate leadership on Thursday moved to declare the seat of Abia South Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, vacant following his defection from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The move came shortly after Abaribe was listed among nine senators who formally announced their defection from their respective political parties to the ADC on the floor of the Senate.

While the leadership of the upper chamber accepted the defection of eight other lawmakers who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), Abaribe’s case immediately sparked constitutional objections.

Raising the first point of order, the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, argued that Abaribe’s defection could not stand because there was no crisis or division within APGA that could justify his decision to leave the party.

In his response, Abaribe told the chamber that he had been expelled from APGA in September 2025, a development he said necessitated his defection to the ADC.

However, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, maintained that the alleged expulsion from APGA automatically disqualified Abaribe from retaining his seat in the Senate.

Citing Section 65(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Bamidele noted that a person seeking election into the National Assembly must be a member of a political party and sponsored by that party.

According to him, once Abaribe was expelled by the party that sponsored his election, he ceased to qualify as a member of the Senate.

Bamidele further relied on Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution, which provides that “a member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall vacate his seat if he defects to another political party before the expiration of his tenure, except where the defection results from a division or merger in the original party.”

He stressed that no such division existed within APGA to justify Abaribe’s defection and therefore urged the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to declare the Abia South seat vacant.

Responding, Akpabio also faulted Abaribe for failing to notify the Senate leadership earlier that he had allegedly been expelled from APGA since September 2025.

The Senate President subsequently gave the Abia lawmaker up till the next legislative day to present documentary evidence confirming his expulsion from APGA.

Akpabio also Abaribe would have to withdraw his defection letter or risk having his seat declared vacant by the Senate.

Nine senators from the PDP, LP, and APGA have defected to the ADC today in the Senate chambers.

No fewer than nine senators from different political parties formally announced their defection to the African Democratic Congress on Thursday, further reshaping the political configuration of the Senate.

Those who declared for the party include the lawmaker representing Sokoto South, Aminu Tambuwal; his Abia South counterpart, Enyinnaya Abaribe; Binos Yaroe (Adamawa South); Victor Umeh (Anambra Central); Tony Nwoye (Anambra North); Lawal Usman (Kaduna Central); Ogoshi Onawo (Nasarawa South); Austin Akobundu (Abia Central); and Ireti Kingibe (Federal Capital Territory).

Their letters of defection were read on the floor of the Senate during Thursday’s plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

In his letter, Nwoye attributed his decision to internal crises within the Labour Party.

“I wish to tender my resignation amid the ongoing multiple litigations within the Labour Party, which have significantly affected the cohesion and stability of the party.

“Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest esteem and regards,” Nwoye’s defection read.

Reacting after reading the letters, Akpabio welcomed the lawmakers to their new political platform but dismissed suggestions that the ruling All Progressives Congress was responsible for the wave of defections.

He said, “Deputy Senate President and Leader of the Senate, I hope you noticed that I have read (defections) from three different political parties now. So, you cannot accuse the ruling party of tampering with its leadership. Here, we have APGA, Labour, SDP, and all of them.

“So, all of them have a problem. They’ve not been able to put their parties together. So, the APC cannot be blamed for this.

“They are all out to ensure that we have what you call a minority status in this chamber, and I am very proud of them.”

The latest defections further underscore the continuing political realignments in the 10th Senate, where lawmakers have repeatedly switched party allegiances amid internal disputes within several opposition parties.

As of Thursday, the APC retains a dominant majority with 87 senators, while the Peoples Democratic Party has dwindled to seven members.

The ADC, boosted by the latest defections, now has seven senators in the chamber.

Other minority parties include the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), each of which has one senator, bringing the total membership of the Senate to 106.

The Labour Party and Social Democratic Party currently have no representation in the upper chamber following the latest defections.

Social activist, Aisha Yesufu, has advised opposition leaders, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to adopt practical campaign strategies that directly address the economic hardship faced by many Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.

In a post on X on Thursday, Yesufu argued that widespread poverty has made many citizens more concerned about immediate survival than political messaging.

According to her, citizens have been “deliberately impoverished,” with money taken from their pockets while the cost of food continues to rise, making small material assistance more significant to voters.

She said opposition parties must communicate with voters in ways that resonate with their daily struggles.

Yesufu added that hunger often limits people’s ability to focus on political arguments or policy debates.

She wrote: “Citizens were deliberately impoverished, monies taken away from their pockets and food made expensive so that little tokens will matter to them.

“As we go into the 2027 election, the opposition must campaign to the people in the language the people will understand.

“For those who need bread, give them bread with your picture on it. For those who need policies, give them policy documents with your picture on it.

“A hungry man or woman cannot reason. He or she just wants the rumbling in their tummy to stop.”