APC Senate majority leaders defect to PDP

Yahaya Abdullahi, and Adamu Aliero who are frontline members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senate Majority Leader, have officially defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

The two APC senators who are from Kebbi State, Sen. Ailero and Sen. Abdullahi, representing Kebbi Central and Kebbi North Senatorial Districts respectively, conveyed their defection formally in separate letters that were addressed to Ahmad Lawan, the  Senate President.

Enyinnaya Abaribe, a Senate Minority Leader from the Peoples Democratic Party is also going to defect to the All Progressives Grand Alliance on June 15.

His defection and exit as Minority Leader was deferred, given the inability of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to come with his defection and resignation letter to plenary.

Although an announcement to that effect was made by Lawan, it was however agreed that Abaribe’s letter be formally read on the floor before his exit as Minority Leader, after a point of order raised by Sen. Gabriel Suswam (PDP- Benue).

The defection of the APC senators brings the total number of PDP Senators to 39 from the previous 38, with the exclusion of Abaribe, who is set to formally defect from the opposition party to APGA.

It also reduced the number of APC Senators from 71 to 69 in the Senate.