KEY POINTS
- Eight lawmakers switched parties in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in fresh defections seen as early 2027 election positioning.
- The Peoples Democratic Party lost five members, with two going to the APC, two to Accord and one to ADC, while the APC lost two and the Labour Party one.
- Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu rejected suggestions of a drift toward a one-party system, framing the moves as evidence of democratic freedom.
A fresh wave of defections rolled through Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Tuesday as eight lawmakers switched parties, in what looks like early positioning for the 2027 general election that has put every major bloc on notice.
Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker, read out the defection letters at plenary after the Easter break, capturing a political space that is shifting in every direction at once and that he insists is doing exactly what democracy promises.
Where the eight defectors landed
The Peoples Democratic Party took the heaviest hit, losing five members. Abubakar Abdul of Niger State and Ibrahim Mohammed of Kebbi crossed to the All Progressives Congress, while Yakubu Noma, also from Kebbi, joined the African Democratic Congress, broadening the ADC’s recent recruitment push.
Two more PDP lawmakers walked together. Mudashiru Alani of Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa and Adetunji Olusoji of Odo-Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe, both from Osun State, defected to the Accord party.
The APC also gave up ground. David Fuoh of Taraba crossed the aisle to the PDP, while Bashir Zubair of Kaduna joined the ADC, underscoring that the night’s losses cut both ways.
Lagos delivered the day’s other notable switch. Thaddeus Attah, who represents Eti-Osa Federal Constituency, dumped the Labour Party for the ADC, citing what he called the “protracted crisis in the leadership of the LP” that has hobbled his work for constituents in recent months.
Kalu pushes back on one-party fears
Kalu used the moment to push back at suggestions the trend signals a drift toward a one-party system. Movement is flowing in both directions, he argued, with lawmakers leaving the majority party for minority blocs and the other way around.
“This is to show the country that no party is stifled. People are leaving the majority party for the minority parties and the minority parties for the majority party. This is the beauty of democracy,” Kalu said.
Defections rarely surprise anyone in Nigerian politics, especially as election cycles approach. With less than two years to the 2027 polls, lawmakers are recalibrating around internal party fights, electoral math and shifting regional dynamics. The current churn draws much of its energy from the leadership crises gripping the PDP and the LP, even as both major and smaller parties scramble to firm up their ranks ahead of primaries that will decide who carries each flag.
The House adjourned plenary to Wednesday in honor of Hassan Danjuma, a Kano lawmaker who died on April 10, 2026, at the age of 66.
