The wave of defections from opposition political parties in the National Assembly has raised the membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to 68 in the Senate and about 207 in the House of Representatives, with two years into the life of the 10th National Assembly.
With Senator Neda Imasuen of the Labour Party, representing Edo South, ready to officially move to the APC on Thursday, June 12, the party’s Senate strength is expected to rise from the current 68 to 69 after the defection is officially announced.
The number may jump to 70 if Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District and at the weekend announced his resignation from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), confirms report about his return to the APC.
Opposition parties, which had a greater majority in the House of Representatives and were nearly at par with the APC in the Senate at the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on June 13, 2023, have witnessed a major depletion in their number.
In the Senate, the recent defection of three senators from Kebbi—formerly of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—to the APC further reduced the PDP’s strength from 36 to 30. In the House of Representatives, the PDP’s numbers have also declined substantially.
At the start of the 10th National Assembly, the Senate’s composition was: APC – 59 seats; PDP – 36; Labour Party (LP) – 8; Social Democratic Party (SDP) – 2; New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) – 2; All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – 1; and Young Progressives Party (YPP) – 1.
Following the recent defections, the Senate tally now stands at: APC, 68 seats; PDP, 30; LP, 5; SDP 2; NNPP 1; APGA 1; with two seats, one each in Edo and Anambra, presently vacant.
