Reps defections intensify as lawmakers leave APC and PDP for NDC and ADC ahead of rising opposition coalition talks

Fresh defections in the House of Representatives on Thursday deepened political tensions within Nigeria’s major parties as five lawmakers abandoned the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party for the Nigeria Democratic Congress and the African Democratic Congress.

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The latest Reps defections came just days after 17 lawmakers moved to the NDC, fuelling speculation about an emerging opposition alliance ahead of the next general election cycle.

The defections were formally announced during plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

Among those who switched parties was Muhammed El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, who defected from the APC to the NDC.

Also joining the NDC were Joshua Obika, representing the Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kuje/Kwali Federal Constituency of the Federal Capital Territory, and Abdulhakeem Kamilu, representing Wudil/Garko Federal Constituency in Kano State.

Meanwhile, Suleiman Richifa and Umar Ajilo defected from the PDP to the ADC, citing unresolved internal crises within the opposition party.

Muhammed El-Rufai’s decision is widely viewed as politically significant given the increasingly strained relationship between his father and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The younger El-Rufai, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency, had faced months of speculation over his political future amid growing criticism of the APC by the former Kaduna governor.

Nasir El-Rufai, once considered a close ally of Tinubu and a major figure within the APC, has repeatedly accused the party leadership of abandoning internal democracy and marginalising influential stakeholders.

Political observers have linked the breakdown in relations to the former governor’s failed ministerial nomination in 2023, which exposed widening cracks between him and the presidency.

For Obika, Thursday’s announcement marked his third political movement in under two years.

The lawmaker was elected into the House on the platform of the Labour Party in 2023 before defecting to the APC in March 2026 and now to the NDC.

Kamilu, who recently joined the ADC from the New Nigeria People’s Party, attributed his latest switch to what he described as a leadership crisis within his former party.

Richifa and Ajilo also blamed prolonged disputes within the PDP at both state and national levels for their departure.

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Thursday’s wave of Reps defections has further reshaped political alignments in the lower chamber and heightened expectations that more lawmakers could switch allegiances as coalition talks intensify ahead of future elections.