Senators clash over Ned Nwoko's defection to APC

There was a heated argument among senators on Wednesday following the defection of Delta North Senator, Ned Nwoko, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Nwoko officially resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on 30 January, through a letter addressed to the chairman of his ward, Ward 8 in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.

During Wednesday’s plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Mr Nwoko’s letter announcing his defection. The announcement, however, triggered intense debate among lawmakers.

Constitutional debate over defection

The controversy revolved around Section 68(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates that a lawmaker can only switch parties without losing their seat if there is a division within their original political party.

While APC senators argued that the PDP was factionalised to justify Mr Nwoko’s defection, opposition lawmakers, particularly from the PDP, insisted that the party remained united, making the move unconstitutional.

The Minority Leader, Abba Moro, challenged Mr Nwoko’s defection, arguing that though the PDP is battling with internal crisis, it had not split.

“As I am speaking to you now, Mr President, there is no division PDP. We may be having issues, there is no doubt about it, but there is no division in the rank and file. There is no division in the leadership of the PDP,” he said.

However, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin pointed to the cracks within the PDP, including the camps led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.

“Everybody knows in this country that there is a split in the PDP. We have the Wike faction, we have the Bala Mohammed faction. Even a boy on the street knows this and why is the minority leader saying otherwise. There is a faction. What we have done is in line with our constitution,” Mr Jibrin said.

Akpabio’s intervention and final verdict

When the argument got intense, Mr Akpabio intervened. He said there was crisis within the PDP leadership and noted that the opposition party’s internal conflicts were sufficient reasons for defection.

“Who is your national secretary? Why I am saying this is that the governors have their national secretary, the other members have their national secretary. I know that once there is a division in the NWC, any member of the party has the right to seek succour elsewhere. That is fundamental and constitutionally guaranteed,” he said.

Mr Moro, however, held his ground, insisting that the PDP was adhering to a Court of Appeal ruling on its leadership dispute and was, therefore, still intact as a party.

“I want to say at this point that the PDP is a law abiding institution and so the Court of Appeal made a pronouncement on the secretaryship of the party and the party is adhering to that ruling until otherwise.”

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, advanced the argument in favour of Mr Nwoko’s defection, noting that the issue should not even be debated on the Senate floor but rather be left to the courts

“This is a matter that rests on the constitution The right of every legislation to cross carpet and our own rules also takes legislative routes of that constitutional provisions. The minority leader defeated himself. Whether or not there is a division in the PDP is not a matter that will be tried on the floor of this Senate.

“They can go to the court of law. It is visible even to he blind that there are sharp divisions in the PDP as of today. Wike is leading one faction and the other faction is being led by Bala Mohammed,” Mr Bamidele said.

Despite the explanations, Mr Moro refused to concede that the PDP was divided.

“We are not afraid of the court. I am not grandstanding. I want to point out here and I am standing to be corrected that the PDP is not divided. Mr President, there is no division in PDP.”

However, Mr Akpabio said the constitutional authority to determine party division lies with him and consequently ruled that Mr Nwoko’s defection was in line with the constitution and the Senate rules.

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“The constitution says ‘when the senate president is satisfied that there is division.’ You have failed to convince the senate president and the Senate. This is not a court of law. What we are doing here is based on the constitution. You are making the job easier for APC,” he said.

The implications of Ned Nwoko’s defection

This defection is a major setback for the PDP, particularly in Delta State, where the party has traditionally been strong.

With the senate president ruling in favour of the defection, the PDP’s only option now is to challenge Mr Nwoko’s move in court, a process that could take months or even years to resolve.

In the meantime, the APC has gained yet another senator, further consolidating its dominance in the Senate. With Mr Nwoko’s defection, APC now has 64 senators, PDP 33, LP 5, NNPP 2, SDP 2 and APGA 1, totaling 107 members.

Anambra South and Edo Central seats are vacant following the death of Ifeanyi Ubah and the inauguration of Monday Okpebholo as governor of Edo State.