Trouble looms for Abaribe as Senate Challenges His Defection
The Senator representing a BJ is South Senatorial Zone, Enyinnaya Abaribe may lose his seat in the Senate following strong resistance from some Senators over his defection from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In what appears to be a calculated gang up to clip his outspokenness, the Senate surprisingly warned that the Constitution provides that a lawmaker who defects from the political party that sponsored him to the National Assembly may lose his seat if there is no clear division within the party.
The issue which arose shortly after Abaribe’s letter of defection was read on the floor of the Senate, saw the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, raising a constitutional point of order, stating that under the Constitution, a lawmaker can only retain his seat after defecting if the action is caused by a division in the political party that sponsored him.
Barau maintained that there is no division within APGA, thereby questioning the legality of Abaribe’s defection.
Adding his voice, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, agreed with Barau’s position and urged the Senate to give Abaribe the opportunity to withdraw his letter of defection.
He suggested that if Senator Abaribe fails to do so, the Senate may refer the matter to the legal department of the National Assembly or external solicitors to determine the appropriate constitutional action.
Contributing, Senator Adams Oshiomhole argued that APGA remains united, pointing out that the party recently won the Anambra State governorship election, which demonstrates that it is neither weak nor divided.
To this end, the Senate gave Abaribe until the next legislative sitting to withdraw his defection letter or risk losing his seat.
In the letter, the Abia South lawmaker stated that his decision was in line with a collective resolve to rescue and deepen Nigeria’s democratic system.
Responding to the concerns, Senator Abaribe admitted that APGA is not divided, but explained that the party had expelled him as a member since September 2025.
He added that since the Constitution requires a senator to belong to a political party, he decided to defect to the African Democratic Congress.
In a follow up reaction, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, argued that the alleged expulsion of Abaribe could itself raise another constitutional issue, noting that Section 68(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution requires that a senator must belong to a political party.
According to him, if Abaribe had indeed been expelled since September 2025, it could imply that his seat had already become vacant.
However, Senator Victor Umeh expressed dissatisfaction with the debate, recalling that several senators had defected in the past without similar objections.
He cited examples including Senator Pam Dachungyang, who defected from the Action Democratic Party (ADP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Senator Francis Ezenwa, who also left the Labour Party, despite no reported division in their parties at the time.
In his ruling, Senate President Godswill Akpabio gave Abaribe until the next legislative week to either withdraw his letter of defection or present convincing constitutional grounds for his action.
Some Political analysts say this development is all intended to stop Abaribe from emerging as the new Minority Leader in the Senate.