UPDATED: Ibori’s Daughter and Five LP Reps Members Defect to APC
As the House of Representatives resumed on Thursday, five lawmakers from the Labour Party (LP) officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defectors include Esosa Iyawe (Edo), Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), and Daulyop Fom (Plateau). Additionally, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, a lawmaker from Delta State and the daughter of former Governor James Ibori, also left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the APC.
The lawmakers cited internal divisions within the Labour Party as the primary reason for their defections.
After more than two decades since its formation, the Labour Party made significant inroads into mainstream politics during the 2023 elections, securing six Senate seats and over 34 seats in the House of Representatives. This was a sharp contrast to the 2019 National Assembly elections, where the LP did not win a single seat.
Despite the party’s breakthrough in the 2023 elections, where its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, finished third, many had expected the LP to form a strong opposition alongside the PDP against the ruling APC. However, ongoing intra-party conflicts have plagued the LP since the elections, leading to these defections.
