Historic Defection Wave Hits National Assembly — 9 Senators, 12 Reps Switch Parties

The Senate’s opposition landscape shifted again on Wednesday as two more senators defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress and Senator Tony Nwoye of the African Democratic Congress was named the new Minority Whip.

Osita Ngwu (Enugu West) and Anthony Siyako Yaro (Gombe South) left the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC, while Ahmed Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West) completed his switch from the Social Democratic Party to the APC.

The moves push the APC’s Senate strength to 91 seats, with the PDP reduced to just five senators — a collapse from the party that governed Nigeria for 16 years.

Ngwu explains his move

Ngwu, who had served as Minority Whip before his defection, said his decision was driven by the need to align with Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and President Bola Tinubu. In a letter read on the Senate floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Ngwu described the APC as the most stable political platform in the country.

Wadada, already the APC consensus governorship candidate for Nasarawa State in 2027, said his defection was decided in August 2025, driven by internal leadership conflicts within the SDP.

Nwoye takes minority leadership

Nwoye, who represents Anambra North, was unanimously selected by the Senate minority caucus to fill the vacancy left by Ngwu. He was elected to the Senate in 2023 on the Labour Party ticket before moving to the ADC in late 2025.

His appointment marks a significant shift: the ADC, with nine senators, has effectively displaced the PDP as the lead opposition party in the Senate. Political analyst John Oloriegbe noted that the ADC should now nominate a new Minority Leader as well, given that the current holder, Senator Abba Moro of the PDP, leads a caucus of just five.

What this means for 2027

The reshuffle comes less than a year before the 2027 general elections, and the timing is deliberate. With 91 senators, the APC can push through legislation with little resistance. For the opposition, the math is brutal — five PDP senators cannot block much.

The real question is whether more defections will follow before the election cycle begins in earnest. For now, Nwoye sits at the head of a reshaped minority, tasked with holding the government accountable from a position of numerical weakness.

Sources: Punch, Daily Trust, The Sun, BusinessDay