Less than 24 hours before the anticipated defection of Governor Agbu Kefas from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), all sixteen PDP members of the Taraba State House of Assembly have resigned from the party and joined the ruling APC.
The development unfolded during today’s plenary session, where Speaker John Kizito Bonzina announced the resignations.
He read letters submitted by the lawmakers, each stating their decision to leave the PDP for the APC, reports The Guardian.
According to the Speaker, the defections fall under Section 109 of the Constitution, which permits lawmakers to switch parties in the event of division within their political party.
In their letters, the lawmakers cited a lingering leadership crisis within the PDP at the national level and claimed the existence of two rival factions.
They described the situation as one that has thrown the party into confusion and made continued membership untenable.
The defectors, speaking after the plenary, said the unresolved internal wrangling that once boosted the party’s profile had now weakened it.
They added that they had consulted their respective constituencies before making the decision.
Jethro Yakubu, representing Wukari I, said his defection became necessary because the crisis threatening the PDP “has the potential to expunge the party from the country.”
Similarly, Musa Chul of Gassol I and Nelson Len of Nguroje constituency said remaining in the PDP would jeopardize their political future, prompting their decisions and that of their supporters to join the APC.
The mass defection marks a major shift in Taraba’s political landscape, coming at a time when the state is already bracing for Governor Kefas’s expected move to the ruling party.
With the defections, the 24-member State House of Assembly is now entirely made up of APC lawmakers.
Former Speaker Abel Peter Diah, a long-standing APC member and the current representative for Mbamnga constituency, commended the defectors for deeming it necessary to join the APC.
He also praised the Speaker and the newly defected lawmakers for aligning with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the state would benefit more from the federal government.
Meanwhile, former Senate leader, Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm over the growing wave of defections by governors and federal lawmakers from opposition parties to the ruling APC.
He warned that the party may be courting an internal collapse if the trend continues unchecked.
The lawmaker dismissed many of the defectors as political lightweights with little or no value to add to the governing party, insisting that the APC is becoming “overloaded” with “mostly empty cargo.”
