During a recent Senate plenary session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio drew attention to the ongoing realignment within Nigeria’s opposition bloc, remarking on what he described as internal disarray. His comments followed the official reading of a defection letter from former Sokoto State Governor and Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who confirmed his move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The letter also noted additional resignations from the Labour Party (LP) and other minority caucus members.
As he read the correspondence, Akpabio paused to comment on the state of the opposition, stating, “PDP is gone!” and noting, “Even the Labour Party is dead. I’ve read about three different political parties now,” referring to the series of defections from the LP.
The Senate President used the moment to reject any suggestion that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was responsible for the opposition’s difficulties. He attributed the turbulence to leadership shortcomings within the parties themselves, pointing to the involvement of multiple groups such as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Labour Party, and the Motherland Peoples’ Movement (MPM), formerly known as the MVP. “You cannot accuse the ruling party of tampering with their leadership because here you have APGA, you have Labour, you have MVP, and all those things. So all of them have a problem. They’ve not been able to put their parties together,” Akpabio said.
He further asserted that the APC should not be blamed for the situation, framing the opposition’s struggles as self-inflicted. “They are all out to ensure that we have a minority status in this chamber, and I am very proud of them,” he added, implying that the opposition’s disunity was a deliberate strategy that inadvertently strengthened the APC’s position.
The remarks highlight the fluid nature of Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections, where party affiliation and legislative numbers are critical. The defections, particularly of a prominent figure like Tambuwal, underscore persistent volatility within the main opposition PDP and the once-influential Labour Party. While Akpabio framed the developments as evidence of opposition failure, analysts note that such shifts could alter the balance of power in the Senate, affecting legislative agendas and coalition-building. The episode reaffirms the APC’s efforts to consolidate its majority, while opposition parties face mounting pressure to reorganize amid allegations of internal crisis.
