The All Progressives Congress (APC) may see its majority in the Nigerian Senate disappear if the ruling party does not put a stop to the impending defections of many lawmakers.
It was gathered that no fewer than 20 APC senators have concluded plans to dump the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Labour Party (LP), Young Progressives Party (YPP) and other opposition parties.
As the APC loses more lawmakers to the opposition party, leaders of the ruling party are worried that PDP might gain control of the upper legislative chambers with a majority.
This led to a meeting between the National Chairman of the APC, Adamu Abdullahi and the party senators led by Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday.
The APC currently has 67 senators while the five minority parties in the upper chamber have 43 senators with the PDP boasting 39 senators, while the YPP, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), LP and the NNPP have four senators.
Speaking to The PUNCH, a lawmaker said Adamu Abdullahi tried to persuade aggrieved lawmakers to remain in the party.
The source said, “The party chairman came to have a meeting with the APC senators because he said that they learnt through intelligence that not lesser than 20 more senators were planning to defect to other parties within the next one week.
The chairman asked each of the aggrieved senators to lay bare their grievances which we all did one after the other. Having heard our problems, the chairman instructed that we put them into writing.”
According to the lawmaker, the APC chairman said it was a dangerous period for the party to lose its lawmakers close to the 2023 general election.
He stated that Adamu asked the senators to draft a letter of complaint to the party to as to allow the APC caucus leaders deliberate on the issue raised with National Working Committee.
“Senator Adamu further stated the party would then see what it can do to help the situation. He, however, stated that lawmakers who do not feel comfortable with the help provided by the parties can then leave. But leaving without proper consultations with the party sends a wrong signal of discord. It presents the party as if in disarray and without proper leadership.”
“This is an election year and it’s not good to present the party as having leadership issues,” the source quoted Adamu to have said.
