Two senators from Rivers State, who are believed to be loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, have officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defecting lawmakers are Sen. Onyesoh Alwell, representing Rivers East Senatorial District and Sen. Barry Mpigi, representing Rivers South East Senatorial District.
The lawmakers, in defection letters read during plenary on Tuesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, cited the crisis rocking the PDP for their decision to dump the party for the APC.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Senators announced their defection on the same day that six members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers who defected blamed the leadership challenges in the PDP for their decision. They argued that the instability in the PDP has made it difficult to represent their constituencies effectively.
The separate letters of defection, read on the floor of the House by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, explained that they decided to defect after due consultations with their constituency members and political leaders.
Naijaonpoint understands that the lawmakers who dumped the PDP for the APC are loyalists of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Those who defected are:
Hon. Solomon Bob
Hon. Victor Obuzor
Hon. Dumnamene Dekor
Hon. Cyril Hart
Hon. Blessing Amadi
Hon. Felix Nwaeke