Another Labour Party lawmaker defects to APC

Another member of the Labour Party (LP) caucus in the House of Representatives, Alfred Ajang, has defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), becoming the sixth lawmaker to do so within a week.

Mr Ajang’s defection was announced on Thursday by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen during plenary.

In the letter read by Mr Tajudeen, the lawmaker, who represents Jos South/East Federal Constituency of Plateau State, stated that his decision was due to the crisis within the LP.

The minority bench protested the defection; however, their objections were overruled by the speaker.

Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) argued that there is no crisis within the party to justify the defection. He insisted that the seat should be declared vacant in line with the constitution.

Gale of defections in the LP

Defections from the LP have become a regular occurrence over the past week.

Last week, Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency of Edo) all defected to the APC.

On Tuesday, Dalyop Chollom, who represents the Barkin Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency of Plateau State, also joined the APC.

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Before the 2023 general election, the LP was relatively small until former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, joined and significantly boosted its prominence.

However, the party has been in turmoil since the election, plagued by a leadership tussle.

The defections in the House have continued to deplete the strength of its caucus. At the beginning of the 10th House in June 2023, there were 34 LP lawmakers.