By Henry Umoru
Abuja — The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has further strengthened its hold in the Senate following the defection of two Rivers State Senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Senators Barinada Mpigi and Onyesoh Alwell officially joined the APC on Monday, citing internal factionalism within the PDP, particularly at the national level, as their reason for leaving. Their defections were formalized through separate letters read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The move reduced the PDP’s Senate representation from 26 to 24 while increasing the APC’s strength from 76 to 78 Senators.
The defectors were welcomed by the APC Senate caucus led by Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) and national party executives, including National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru.
Senator Bamidele emphasized that the defections were voluntary and not induced, stating, “Our democracy is growing. APC is exercising its constitutional obligation to open its doors to all. Nobody is joining APC under any form of coercion.”
Senate President Akpabio, while acknowledging the developments, advised the ruling party to uphold internal democracy to avoid the crises that have historically plagued minority parties like the PDP.
With the new alignments, the Senate now comprises 78 APC Senators, 24 PDP Senators, 4 Labour Party Senators, 2 All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Senators, 1 New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Senator, and 1 Social Democratic Party (SDP) Senator, bringing the total to 109.
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