The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has lost another member in the Senate following the defection of Senator Kaila Dahuwa Samaila, representing Bauchi North Senatorial District, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
His defection was formally announced on Tuesday during plenary after a letter he addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio was read on the floor.
In the letter, Senator Samaila cited prolonged internal crises within the PDP as the reason for his decision to leave the party.
With his exit, PDP’s representation in the 10th Senate has dropped from 28 to 27 members, while the APC now holds 74 seats.
The defection further strengthens the ruling party’s majority in the Senate, leaving the Labour Party with four senators, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, with two, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, with one senator each.
Samaila, a first-term lawmaker elected in 2023, said unresolved leadership issues and factional disputes had weakened the PDP’s structure in his state and across the country.
The defection comes amid a series of similar moves by opposition lawmakers dissatisfied with the PDP’s internal crisis.
