The All Progressives Congress (APC) senators have risen to 70, following the defection of four senators from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The development excited Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who assured Nigerians of APC’s commitment to better governance and national development.
During the plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio read letters from Senators Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East), Olubiyi Fadeyi (Osun Central), Aniekan Bassey (Akwa Ibom North-East), and Sampson Ekong (Akwa Ibom South), formally notifying the chamber of their defection to the ruling party.
The senators blamed their decision on the deepening internal crisis within the PDP, marked by factional struggles, unresolved leadership issues, and legal battles, which they described as destabilising and counter-productive.
Bassey declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, expressing his desire to contribute to “APC’s inclusive and development-driven policies”. Similarly, Fadahunsi said he could no longer remain in a party plagued by disunity and mistrust.
The defections further weakened the PDP’s presence in the Senate, reducing its numbers from 36 at inception in June 2023 to 28. The Labour Party (LP) holds five seats (down from eight), while the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) is left with just one senator. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) retains two seats, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has one.
Two seats (Edo Central and Anambra South) remain vacant, pending by-elections to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
APC now stands just three seats away from securing a two-thirds majority (73) in the Senate.
During the plenary, Bamidele described the latest turncoats as a sign of growing confidence in the APC.
He congratulated Akpabio, APC leaders in both states and Tinubu, saying the development reinforced the party’s responsibility to “re-engineer its philosophy” and deliver on its promises.
