The Labour Party, LP, caucus in the House of Representatives experienced a setback on Thursday, as four of its members defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The lawmakers who switched allegiance to the APC are Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), and Iyawe Esosa (Edo).
In a related development, Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu, the daughter of former Delta State Governor James Ibori, also left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and joined the APC.
Donatus Mathew, representing Kaura Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, confirmed the move, stating that his decision to join the APC was driven by personal conviction.
Speaking of his defection had the support of his constituency, Mathew, who made history by winning a parliamentary seat in 2023 after previously working as a commercial motorcycle rider, said; “You cannot just work on the decision of the people at the constituency level because you are dealing with people with different levels of understanding.
“I am taking this decision based on conviction. That is why whether you like it or not, there are people within the constituency who are convinced that it (defection) is the right decision for them. There are those who are skeptical waiting for the outcome,” he said.
On Thursday, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas read their defection letters to the APC on the floor of the Green Chamber.
Comments