17 ADC Lawmakers Defect to NDC as Akpabio Jokes Party Is 'Dead'

Key facts

• 17 House of Representatives members defected from ADC to NDC on Tuesday.
• Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu read the defection notices during plenary.
• Senate President Godswill Akpabio joked that 'ADC is dead' after similar defections in the Senate.
• Lawmaker Leke Abejide defected from ADC to APC, not NDC.
• Former presidential candidates Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso defected from ADC to NDC on Sunday.
• Lawmakers cited leadership crises and unending litigation in ADC as reasons for leaving.

Mass Exodus from ADC Shakes National Assembly

Seventeen members of Nigeria's House of Representatives have abandoned the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), in the largest single-day defection since the start of the political year. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu read the defection notices during Tuesday's plenary, as the green chamber witnessed a coordinated move that underscores the ADC's deepening internal crisis. The defectors represent 17 constituencies across Kano, Anambra, Lagos, Edo, Rivers, and Kogi states. Among them are Yusuf Datti (Kura/Madobi/Garun Mallam, Kano), Harris Okonkwo (Idemili North/Idemili South, Anambra), Sani Adamu (Minjibir/Ungogo, Kano), Thaddeus Attah (Eti-Osa, Lagos), George Ozodinobi, the deputy minority whip (Njikoka/Anaocha/Dunukofia, Anambra), Lilian Obiageli (Awka North/Awka South, Anambra), and Oluwaseyi Sowunmi (Ojo, Lagos). The list also includes Peter Anekwe (Anambra East and West, Anambra), Zakari Mukhtari (Tarauni, Kano), George Olawande (Amuwo Odofin, Lagos), Murphy Omroruyi (Egor/Ikpoba Okha, Edo), Umezuruike Manuchim (Port-Harcourt I, Rivers), Emeka Idu (Onitsha North/South, Anambra), Jese Onuakalusi (Oshodi-Isolo, Lagos), Ifeanyi Uzokwe (Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo, Anambra), Afam Ogene (Ogbaru, Anambra), and Kamilu Ado (Wudil/Garko, Kano).

Senate President Declares ADC 'Dead' Amid Defections

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, presiding over plenary on Tuesday, reacted to the defections with a mix of humor and frustration, declaring that the ADC was effectively dead. His remark came shortly after the Senate formally announced the defection of lawmakers, including Victor Umeh, who joined the NDC citing internal crises and “unending litigation” within the ADC. “Resignation from ADC and declaration for Labour Party. 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,” Akpabio said, drawing reactions in the chamber. He continued in a lighter tone, questioning the frequency of political defections by lawmakers: “How many times can you defect in a month? Once. But some have done three times.” Akpabio suggested a more coordinated system for handling defections, adding that lawmakers should “compile” their movement lists rather than announce them individually on the 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 added.

High-Profile Defections Precede House Exodus

The mass defection in the House follows a similar move by two prominent political figures just two days earlier. On Sunday, Peter Obi, the Labour Party's presidential candidate in the 2023 election, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano State, defected from the ADC to the NDC. Both politicians subsequently urged their supporters to join the NDC, signaling a broader realignment of opposition forces ahead of the 2027 general election. Their departure from the ADC, coupled with the House exodus, has dealt a severe blow to the party's standing in the National Assembly. The lawmakers who defected on Tuesday attributed their decisions to leadership crises and legal challenges within their former parties, echoing the reasons cited by Obi and Kwankwaso.

One Lawmaker Switches to Ruling APC

Not all defections from the ADC followed the same path. Leke Abejide, the lawmaker representing Yagba federal constituency of Kogi State, moved from the ADC to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party. His defection was announced alongside the others by Speaker Abass Tajudeen on the floor of the House on Tuesday. Abejide's move to the APC, rather than the NDC, highlights the fragmented nature of the current political realignment. While the NDC appears to be the primary beneficiary of the ADC's collapse, the APC has also gained at least one defector, potentially strengthening its majority in the green chamber.

Wave of Defections Signals Pre-Election Jockeying

The green chamber has recorded a wave of defections since the beginning of the year, as lawmakers position themselves for the 2027 general election. Tuesday's mass move is the largest single-day defection in the House so far, but it is part of a broader trend that has seen legislators switch parties with increasing frequency. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, for example, has moved from APGA to ADC and now from ADC to the Labour Party, as noted by Akpabio during Tuesday's plenary. The Senate President joked that future announcements would no longer be read individually, reflecting the sheer volume of party switching. The defections underscore the fluidity of Nigeria's political landscape, where party loyalty often takes a backseat to strategic calculations ahead of elections.

What Comes Next for the ADC and the NDC

The ADC, once a minor but vocal opposition party, now faces an existential crisis. With its lawmakers fleeing to the NDC and the Labour Party, and its presidential candidates having abandoned it, the party's relevance in the National Assembly is severely diminished. Akpabio's quip that the ADC is 'dead' may be hyperbolic, but it reflects the party's rapid decline. For the NDC, the influx of defectors from the ADC and the endorsement of Obi and Kwankwaso positions it as a potential rallying point for opposition forces. However, the party must now integrate its new members and develop a coherent platform to challenge the APC in 2027. The defections also raise questions about the NDC's internal cohesion, as it absorbs lawmakers from diverse political backgrounds. The coming months will reveal whether the NDC can consolidate these gains or whether further defections will continue to reshape the political landscape.

The bottom line

• 17 House members defected from ADC to NDC in a single day, the largest such move this year.
• Senate President Akpabio declared ADC 'dead' after similar defections in the upper chamber.
• Former presidential candidates Obi and Kwankwaso had defected to NDC two days earlier, urging supporters to follow.
• One ADC lawmaker, Leke Abejide, defected to the ruling APC instead of the NDC.
• Lawmakers cited leadership crises and litigation within ADC as reasons for leaving.
• The defections are part of a broader pre-election realignment ahead of the 2027 general election.