Six members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives from Rivers State, a major oil-producing region in southern Nigeria, have formally defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, marking a significant shift in the state’s federal political alignment.
Okay News reports that the lawmakers announced their decision on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, during a plenary session of the House of Representatives in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, where their defection letters were officially read on the floor of the chamber.
The lawmakers who crossed over to the APC are Robinson Dekor, Solomon Bob, Cyril Hart, Victor Obuzor, Blessing Amadi, and Felix Nwaeke, all of whom were elected on the platform of the PDP during the last general elections.
Reading the letters, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Nigeria’s presiding officer of the lower legislative chamber, cited “divisions and unresolved political crisis in the PDP” as the core reasons presented by the lawmakers for their decision to leave the party.
The defecting legislators stated that the prolonged internal crisis within the PDP had made it impossible for them to effectively pursue their political aspirations or serve their constituents under the party’s structure.
They also pledged their loyalty to the governing party’s policy direction, stating their intention to align with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s current Head of State and leader of the All Progressives Congress.
With this development, the PDP’s strength in the Rivers State caucus of the House of Representatives has dropped sharply from twelve members to just two, representing a dramatic erosion of the party’s influence at the federal legislative level from the state.
The shift follows an earlier wave of defections last week, when Boniface Emerengwa, Awaji Inombek Abiante, and Boma Goodhead also left the PDP for the APC, further weakening the opposition’s presence in Rivers State.
The only remaining PDP lawmakers representing Rivers State in the House are Kingsley Chinda, who currently serves as the House Minority Leader, and Kelechi Nwogu.
Political observers note that the series of defections underscores the deepening crisis within the PDP in Rivers State and signals potential realignments ahead of future national elections.
