BREAKING: Benue Rep Member Dumps PDP for APC
A member of the House of Representatives representing Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency of Benue State, Ojema Ojotu, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made during Tuesday’s plenary session, presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who read the lawmaker’s letter of defection on the floor of the Green Chamber.
Until now, the APC held 10 out of 11 federal seats from Benue State in the House of Representatives. With Ojotu’s defection, the ruling party now controls all 11 seats from the state.
In his letter, Ojotu attributed his decision to persistent internal crises within the PDP, stating that he had reached the decision after consultations with his constituents, family members, and political associates.
However, the defection sparked objections from the opposition bench.
The Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Madaki of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), invoked Constitutional Point of Order 68(1)(g), urging the presiding officer to declare Ojotu’s seat vacant, since the PDP had no proven division warranting the defection.
His objection was countered by the House Majority Leader, Ibrahim Halims, who argued—citing Order 7—that unresolved crises within a political party justified a lawmaker’s decision to leave in order to “protect his political future.”
In his closing remarks, Deputy Speaker Kalu welcomed Ojotu to the APC and assured him of the party’s full support.
Ojotu currently serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Inland Waterways.