The All Progressives Congress has further cemented its dominance in the Senate, with a fresh wave of defections from opposition parties pushing the ruling party’s membership in the upper legislative chamber to 87 senators, triggering significant concern about the shrinking space for legislative checks and balances within Nigeria’s democratic system.
The latest shift followed the formal defection of Senator Osita Ngwu from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC, a move that prompted an immediate leadership adjustment within the now considerably diminished minority caucus. Senator Tony Nwoye of the African Democratic Congress was announced as the new Deputy Minority Whip.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Ngwu’s defection notice in a letter during plenary, with the senator citing the protracted and unresolved internal crisis within the PDP as the primary reason for abandoning the party.
Also defecting to the APC was Senator Anthony Yaro, previously of the PDP, further swelling the ruling party’s legislative numbers. Senator Aliyu Wadada of the Social Democratic Party also announced his exit to join the APC, citing unresolved leadership disputes within his former party that had undermined its unity and effectiveness.
Wadada’s departure from the SDP created an immediate constitutional complication, given that the chairmanship of the Senate Public Accounts Committee was by constitutional provision and parliamentary convention reserved for a member of the opposition. Akpabio announced that a new PAC chairman would be appointed from the remaining minority parties shortly.
In his defection letter, Wadada disclosed that he had completed all formalities for joining the APC at ward and state levels as far back as August 2025, revealing that the switch had been in preparation for months. He added that he had been persuaded by the performance of his state governor, who belonged to the ruling party.
Akpabio confirmed that the APC now commanded 87 seats in the 109-member Senate and disclosed that further defections were under discussion, with additional lawmakers reportedly in talks about joining the ruling party. He attributed the continuing alignment toward the APC to internal challenges within opposition parties and what he described as the perceived performance of the ruling party at both federal and state levels.
