Two members of the House of Representatives have defected from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), citing internal divisions within their former party.
The notices of defection were read by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the House, during plenary on Thursday.
The lawmakers are Kabiru Usman, member representing Rano/Bunkure/Kibiya, and Abdullahi Sani, representing Karaye/Rogo federal constituencies of Kano State.
Read also: Tinubu seeks Senate approval for ₦1.78trn FCT budget
They attributed their decision to deepening internal crises within the NNPP, noting the existence of parallel national and state party leaderships.
Oluwole Oke, House of Representatives member representing the Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency also formally defected from PDP to APC
Abdullahi Ganduje, national chairman of APC, and other party chieftains were admitted to the floor of the house to witness the defections.
Following the defections, Ali Isa, the House Minority Whip, raised a constitutional point of order. He cited Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that a member elected on the platform of one political party who defects to another without a division in the original party may have their seat declared vacant.
The Speaker noted the objection but allowed the defectors to retain their seats.
