Six members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), deepening the political realignment underway in Rivers State and further weakening the opposition’s presence in the National Assembly.
The lawmakers — Dum Dekor, Solomon Bob, Hart Cyril Godwin, Victor Obuzor, Blessing Amadi and Felix Nweke — announced their decision in letters read on the floor of the House by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen during plenary.
In their separate letters, the lawmakers cited the prolonged leadership crisis within the PDP, describing it as unresolved and debilitating. They said the internal turmoil had made it increasingly difficult to function effectively as elected representatives.
How AFCON 2025 Became a Showcase of Africa’s Highest Paid Football Superstars
According to them, the decision to leave the PDP followed wide consultations with political stakeholders in their constituencies. They argued that the APC, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, now offered a more stable and credible platform to deliver on their mandate.
The defections came just days after four other lawmakers from Rivers State abandoned the PDP and the Labour Party, accelerating the collapse of opposition ranks in the state.
Those who defected earlier include Boniface Emerengwa, Awaji-Inombek Abiante and Boma Goodhead, who all left the PDP, as well as Manuchim Umezuruike, who moved from the Labour Party to the APC. Like the latest defectors, they blamed persistent factionalisation and leadership disputes within their former parties.
Together, the exits have dramatically altered Rivers State’s political map at the federal level.
With the latest defections, only three members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State remain outside the APC. They are Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda, Kelechi Nworgu and Anderson Allison Igbiks, all of the PDP.
The House defections were mirrored in the Senate on the same day, as two Rivers senators — Barinada Mpigi (Rivers South-East) and Allwell Heacho Onyesoh (Rivers East) — also defected from the PDP to the APC.
Their decisions were conveyed through letters read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary.
Both senators pointed to lingering internal crises and deepening divisions within the PDP, saying the situation had hampered their ability to pursue effective legislative work.
The wave of defections is widely seen as part of a broader political realignment in Rivers State following the recent defection of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to the APC, a move that has reshaped power dynamics and accelerated the migration of elected officials to the ruling party.
As the PDP struggles to contain its internal fractures, the APC appears to be consolidating its dominance in Rivers State, raising fresh questions about the future of opposition politics in one of Nigeria’s most strategically important states.
