3 PDP reps defect to APC

 Two members of the House of Representatives from Osun State, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and another from Edo State, have officially defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Osun lawmakers, Taofeek Ajilesoro and Omirin Emmanuel Olusanya, joined Marcus Onobun from Edo in announcing their defection through separate letters addressed to the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas.

 

The letters were read on the floor of the House on Wednesday, with Speaker Abbas stating that the lawmakers attributed their decision to “irreconcilable divisions” within the PDP.

 

Senator Ajibola Bashiru, the National Secretary of the APC, was present in the chamber during the announcement, lending weight to the ruling party’s endorsement of the defections.

 

Reacting to the development, Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda urged the Speaker to declare the seats of the defecting members vacant, citing constitutional provisions that prohibit elected officials from switching parties without a justifiable split in their former party.