By Kolawole Ojebisi
The loss of the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the two main opposition parties, translated into a gain for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the House of Representatives on Thursday (today).
This is as four members of LP and a member of the PDP announced their defections during the plenary.
The lawmakers Who left LP for APC are Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), and Iyawe Esosa (Edo).
While, the daughter of former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu, also severed her ties with the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) as she joined the APC.
Confirming the development, Matthew, who represents Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, said the decision to defect to the APC is based on conviction.
Asked if his defection has the backing of his Constituency, Matthew who made history when he won the parliamentary election in 2023 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.
Their letter of defection to the APC was read on the floor of the Green Chamber by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas on Thursday.
With this development, the number of LP members in the green chamber has reduced to thirty (30) while that of PDP is now one hundred and one (101).
The development has further diminished any hope of reducing the dominance of the APC in the house of representatives as envisaged by some analysts after the 2023 general elections.
