Senate leadership has questioned the legality behind the defection of Senator Abaribe to ADC, said no division in his previous party
The defection of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) sparked a heated debate in the Senate on Thursday, as Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin questioned the legality of the move.
Tension rose during plenary when Barau cited Sections 65 and 68 of the Nigerian Constitution, noting that any lawmaker who defects from the party that sponsored their election must vacate their seat—except where the move is caused by a party merger or a verifiable division within the party.
Barau argued that there was no evidence of a crisis within APGA to justify Abaribe’s decision. He proposed that Senator Victor Umeh, a former national chairman of APGA, investigate whether any internal division existed and brief the Senate President accordingly.
“I discovered that there isn’t any division in APGA, and there isn’t any in the Labour Party,” Barau said, stressing that the Senate must ensure that all defections comply with constitutional provisions.
He added that Abaribe’s claim that he defected to prevent the emergence of a one-party system in Nigeria is not recognised by the Constitution.
Barau further noted that although Abaribe cited a point in his letter that could potentially offer legal cover, the rest of the reasons given for the defection fall outside constitutional guidelines.
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Also contributing to the debate, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) said both APGA and the Labour Party still have functional leadership structures and are not facing internal crises.
“I know for a fact that APGA has one chairman and a national executive council that is not in court. There are no issues of division or crisis within the party,” Oshiomhole said.
He added that the leadership of the Labour Party has already been affirmed by the courts, noting that pending appeals do not invalidate existing judgments.
Oshiomhole urged the Senate to uphold constitutional provisions and cautioned against lawmakers switching parties without valid legal grounds.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) described the matter as important to Nigeria’s democratic process and constitutional order.
He suggested allowing Abaribe the opportunity to reconsider his defection letter before the issue could be forwarded to the National Assembly’s legal department.
“If he insists, we may have no choice but to invoke the relevant provisions of the Constitution,” Bamidele said.
Presiding over the session, Akpabio said the Constitution gives him the authority to act on such matters without necessarily seeking court intervention, adding that any decision taken must remain within the bounds of the law.
Responding, Abaribe defended his decision, saying he was expelled from APGA in September 2025.
“I have been sacked from my party since September 2025, and I have the letter here,” he said. “This section does not cover a situation where someone has been removed from their party.”
He maintained that lawmakers must belong to a political party to remain in the Senate, insisting that his move to ADC was lawful.
The debate followed the defection of nine senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party and APGA to ADC, a development that has intensified political realignments in the Senate and renewed scrutiny over the legality of such moves.
The senators who defected to ADC during Thursday’s plenary include Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto South), Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), 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).
