President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has stirred reactions on social media after making remarks about the internal crisis within opposition parties during plenary at the National Assembly.
Akpabio made the comments while reading an official defection letter from former Sokoto State governor and current senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, confirming his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party and join the African Democratic Congress.
The letter also referenced a number of resignations and defections involving lawmakers from the Labour Party Nigeria and other minority caucuses in the Senate.
While reading the communication during plenary, Akpabio paused and appeared amused by the developments within the opposition ranks. Reacting to the situation, he remarked, “Oh, PDP is gone.”
He further added, “Even the Labour Party is dead. I’ve read about three different political parties now,” as he continued to highlight the growing number of defections and internal disputes affecting opposition parties.
Akpabio also dismissed suggestions that the ruling All Progressives Congress was responsible for the instability within opposition parties.
According to him, the challenges facing the parties stem from leadership failures and internal disagreements rather than interference from the ruling party.
“You cannot accuse the ruling party of tampering with their leadership because here you have APGA, you have Labour, you have MVP and others. They all have problems and have not been able to keep their parties together,” he said.
The Senate President further noted that the defections have contributed to strengthening the majority status of the ruling party in the Senate.
He added that the situation has resulted in opposition lawmakers gradually moving toward minority status within the legislative chamber, a development he said the ruling party views as politically advantageous.
