Four members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers are Umezuruike Manuchim, who represents Port Harcourt I Federal Constituency and defected from the LP to the APC, as well as Boniface Emerengwa (Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency), Awaji-Inombek Abiante (Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni Federal Constituency), and Boma Goodhead (Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency), who all moved from the PDP to the APC.
Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, announced the defections on Thursday while reading the lawmakers’ letters during plenary.
The legislators attributed their decision to leave their former parties to the lingering leadership crisis within the PDP, which they said had undermined internal cohesion and effective participation.
The PDP has witnessed a series of defections to the APC in recent months, particularly from Rivers State, amid deepening political tensions.
Last week, 15 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, defected from the PDP to the APC, further weakening the opposition party’s structure in the state.