· Kwankwaso. Obi exit ADC, Binani, Abbo join NDC, Labour
· More decamping in the offing
· 137 Reps change parties since 2024
By Michael AMAJAMA
As the race for 2027 gathers momentum, the power wrangling among the various political blocs at the national and state levels continue to be in a state of flux as alignments and realignments continue to gather momentum.
At the centre of the party movements is the securing of tickets to run for one elective office or the other.
Most hit are the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the once touted mother of all coalitions, the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Obi, Kwankwaso mull next stop
On Sunday, former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, exited the ADC citing worsening internal crises within the party and broader national challenges.
In a statement shared on Sunday on X, Obi said his decision followed deep personal reflection and “silent pains” he had been carrying while navigating Nigeria’s political environment.
He described the country’s system as increasingly toxic, saying it had become marked by intimidation, insecurity, suspicion, and discouragement, which he argued often undermines sincere public service.
“We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the system that should protect and create opportunities often works against the people,” he said.
Obi also said he had been subjected to unfair criticism and internal pressure within political spaces he previously joined in search of solidarity and reform-minded leadership.
“Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism,” he stated, adding that humility is often misinterpreted as weakness in Nigeria’s political culture.
He clarified that his departure from the ADC was not due to personal issues with the party leadership, including former Senate President David Mark or former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, both of whom he said he continues to respect.
Obi said he has no personal desperation for political office, stressing that his focus remains on national welfare rather than positions.
“I am not desperate to be President, Vice President or Senate President. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people can live in dignity, without hunger, fear, or displacement,” he said.
Despite leaving the party, Obi reaffirmed his belief in a better Nigeria, insisting that competent and compassionate leadership remains possible.
Also, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, in the 2023 election, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, hinted of his exit from the ADC barely a month after joining the party.
Kwankwaso, in a statement late Saturday night addressing what he described as “misleading narratives” in the public domain about his departure from the African Democratic Congress, said that ongoing discussions about a possible realignment within the party over its crisis were premature.
Kwankwaso drew parallels between the ADC’s current predicament and the circumstances that led to his exit from the NNPP.
“We left the NNPP due to externally influenced legal problems that made our stay perilous. The ADC has now also been forced into this difficulty,” Kwankwaso had said.
An ally of the former governor of Kano state, Buba Galadima, indicated on Saturday that Kwankwaso and Obi will be heading to a new party on Monday, May 4, 2026, with the NDC and PRP as their best options.
Binani joins NDC, Ishaku Abbo heads to Labour
Further, in Adamawa state, Senator Aishatu Binani, the candidate of the APC in the 2023 governorship election has swapped the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC.
Speaking during her reception into the NDC, Binani said her decision to join the NDC was informed by the party’s constitution and governance philosophy.
“The answer is very simple. Going by the constitution of the NDC, I saw that the party focuses on structured, policy-driven governance,” she said.
Her one-time ally, Senator Ishaku Abbo followed the exit from the ADC into the Labour Party late Saturday.
According to him, “Following the leadership crises rocking the ADC at national and state level more especially with the federal high court judgment that voided our state congresses and the judgment of the Supreme Court that returned the leadership crises case back to the federal high court for determination leaving all of us high on uncertainty, I #senatorishakuabbo the national leader of the SIA MOVEMENT a deeply rooted grassroots movement across Nigeria have today joined the LABOUR PARTY alongside my supporters so we can contest elections in 2027.”
House of Reps sees 137 defections
In the 10th House of Representatives, party shifts continue to dominate ahead of party primaries.
Citing internal leadership crises, divisions, and factionalisation within their respective political parties as reasons, lawmakers have changed party affiliations with 137 recorded since June 2024.
These movements cut across several states, including Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
The ADC recorded the highest gains in this latest round, adding eight members, followed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, with five.
The Majority Caucus also recorded some losses, with three members joining parties within the minority bloc.
In terms of losses, the PDP recorded the highest with eight seats lost to other parties.
Summary of defections since July 2024:
Seats Gained by Parties
– All Progressives Congress (APC) – 103 seats
– African Democratic Congress (ADC) – 23 seats
– Accord Party (AP) – 5 seats
– Action Peoples Party (APP) – 2 seats
– Labour Party (LP) – 2 seats
– All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – 1 seat
– Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 1 seat
Seats Lost by Parties
– Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 82 seats
– Labour Party (LP) – 26 seats
– New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) – 18 seats
– All Progressives Congress (APC) – 4 seats
– Young Progressives Party (YPP) – 3 seats
– All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – 2 seats
– African Democratic Congress (ADC) – 1 seat
The Social Democratic Party, SDP, remains the only party represented at inauguration yet to lose a single member through defection.
The Action Peoples Party, APP, and Accord Party, AP, despite being relatively new entrants into the Assembly’s composition, have retained all gained seats.
