APC closes in on taking over the Senate
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is close to having a majority lead in the senate. This is as the number of senators under the APC has almost risen to 73 which is the 2/3 of 109 Seats available in the Senate.
The party which had 50 elected senators at the commencement of the 10th Senate in June 2023, has risen to 68 now, on account of defections of Senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) into its fold , latest of such defectors are Senators Olubiyi Fadeyi (Osun Central) and Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East).
The 68 seats controlled by APC senators in the senate are excluding two seats of Akwa Ibom North East and South, being occupied by Senators Bassey Aniekan and Samson Akpan Ekong, who last month, joined Governor Umo Eno to defect from PDP to APC.
The 68 Seats are also exclusive of Nasarawa West presently occupied by Senator Aliyu Wadada Ahmed who in May this year, told journalists that he will defect from Social Democratic Party (SDP) to APC in protest against Mallam Nasir El–Rufai who defected from APC to the party before moving to African Democratic Congress (ADC) with politicians across party lines early this month.
All these are aside the two vacant seats of Anambra South and Edo Central to be filled through by election next month.
The two vacant seats were hitherto occupied by senators on the platform of APC in persons of late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah ( Anambra South) and Monday Okpebholo now governor of Edo state.
Consequently, as numbers of senators on the platform of APC are increasing towards 2/3 majority, those on the platforms of minority parties , are decreasing drastically.
The PDP which had 45 Senators in 2023 has decreased to 30 and will get depleted more in the week when the Akwa Ibom Senators, officialised their defections on the floor of the Senate.
Also the Labour Party which had 8 Senators at the commencement of the 10th Senate in June 2023, now has five Senators just as the NNPP which has two from the beginning, now reduced to one.
Meanwhile, pending the official defection of Senator Wadada from Social Democratic Party (SDP) to APC, the party still controls two seats in the Senate just as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), still maintains its one seat (Abia South) in the Senate, pending official defection of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe from it to ADC.
