Three Katsina PDP reps join APC

Three members of the House of Representatives from Katsina State have officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), further extending the wave of defections reshaping the political landscape in the lower legislative chamber. 

The announcements were made during plenary on Thursday, with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas reading their letters of defection on the floor.

The lawmakers, Abdullahi Balarabe (Bakori/Danja), Abubakar Albaba Aliyu (Batasari/Safana/Dan-Musa), and Yusuf Majigiri (Mashi/Dutsi), each cited unresolved internal crises within the PDP as the reason for their departure. Balarabe described his move as a quest for a “more stable platform” in light of the PDP’s “protracted crisis”, while Aliyu blamed a “lack of cohesiveness” in the party. Majigiri pointed to a “high level of internal crisis without cure” as his reason for leaving. The defections were witnessed by Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, the APC state chairman Muhammad Ali, and other political stakeholders present in the gallery.

This development adds to a growing list of lawmakers abandoning the opposition in recent months. Since October 2024, the APC has attracted multiple PDP and Labour Party defectors, including Chris Nkwonta of Abia, Sulaiman Abubakar of Zamfara, and four Labour Party members who switched allegiance in December. In February, PDP lawmakers Amos Magaji and Garba Koko joined the ruling party, and in March, Jallo Mohammed and Adamu Tanko followed suit, all citing persistent party instability.

The defection trend has also extended beyond the APC. On March 27, Clara Nnabuife left the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), citing marginalization. On Tuesday alone, six PDP members joined the APC, while two Labour Party lawmakers defected to the PDP. Obetta Chidi and Dennis Agbo, both from Enugu State, moved from LP to PDP, while PDP members Victor Nwokolo, Julius Pondi, Thomas Ereyitomi, Nicholas Mutu, Ukodhiko Jonathan, and Ezechi Nnamdi all defected to the APC. Notably, Mutu, representing Bomadi/Patani, has been in the House since 1999, making his move particularly symbolic.

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