John Kizito Bonzena, Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, along with 16 lawmakers elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing the protracted crisis within the PDP at the national level.
Bonzena announced his resignation from the PDP during plenary, after which he read letters from the 16 other lawmakers formalising their defection. All defecting members stood in the chamber to affirm their decision to join the APC.
He said the move was in the interest of the state, noting that the persistent internal crisis in the PDP made continued membership untenable.
“Our decision to leave the PDP is purely due to the crisis at the national level. This move to the APC is for the good of the people of Taraba State, not for personal reasons,” he said.
With the defection, all 24 members of the Taraba State House of Assembly now belong to the APC, cementing the party’s total control of the legislature.
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The development comes just days after Governor Agbu Kefas announced his intention to leave the PDP for the APC on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.
