Mass Defection Hits ADC as 17 Reps Join Obi and Kwankwaso in NDC

Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise. 

The political earthquake that began when former presidential candidates Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso abandoned the African Democratic Congress has now reached the floor of Nigeria’s House of Representatives. On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, a total of 17 lawmakers formally defected from the ADC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, delivering a body blow to the opposition party that only days ago had been touted as a major coalition platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The defections were announced during plenary by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who read the lawmakers’ letters on the floor. Among the 17 who crossed to the NDC are Yusuf Datti (Kura/Madobi/Garun Mallam, Kano State), Uchenna Okonkwo (Idemili North/South, Anambra), Adamu Wakili (Minjibir/Ungogo, Kano), Thaddeus Attah (Eti‑Osa, Lagos), George Ozodinobi (Njikoka/Anaocha/Dunukofia, Anambra), Lilian Orogbu (Awka North/South, Anambra), Oluwaseyi Sowunmi (Ojo, Lagos), Peter Aniekwe (Anambra East/West), Mukhtar Zakari (Tarauni, Kano), George Oluwande (Amuwo Odofin, Lagos), Munachim Umezuruike (Port Harcourt I, Rivers), Emeka Idu (Onitsha North/South, Anambra), Jesse Onuakalusi (Oshodi‑Isolo, Lagos), Ifeanyi Uzokwe (Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo, Anambra), Afam Ogene (Ogbaru, Anambra), Abdulhakeem Ado (Wudil/Garko, Kano), and Murphy Osaro Omoruyi (Egor/Ikpoba‑Okha, Edo). The lawmakers, whose constituencies span Kano, Anambra, Lagos, Rivers and Edo states, attributed their decision to what they described in their separate letters as “unresolved crises from the national to ward levels” within the ADC, including lingering court cases that had made it difficult for them to effectively serve their constituents.

The mass defection did not end with the NDC. In a separate but equally significant move, Leke Abejide, representing Yagba Federal Constituency, announced his exit from the ADC to join the ruling All Progressives Congress. While Abejide did not give detailed reasons for his choice, his defection to the APC suggests that the ADC is not only losing lawmakers to the emerging NDC coalition but also shedding members to the established ruling party. Taken together, the two defections reduce the ADC’s already fragile presence in the House of Representatives, a development that is expected to alter the balance of power among minority parties in the lower chamber ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The wave of defections on Tuesday was not spontaneous. It followed the high‑profile departure of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso from the ADC just 24 hours earlier. Both men had joined the ADC last year as part of a grand opposition coalition intended to challenge President Tinubu. However, Obi and Kwankwaso cited “endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division” as their reasons for leaving. In a formal statement, Obi expressed frustration that the ADC had become a legal labyrinth that could prevent him from even appearing on the ballot in 2027. He and Kwankwaso were formally received into the NDC on Sunday by Senator Seriake Dickson, the former Bayelsa State governor who is widely seen as the party’s national leader. At the reception ceremony, Dickson declared that the NDC was “Nigeria’s most stable political party, a party that has no faction, a party that has no litigation whatsoever.” Those words, meant to reassure defectors, appear to have resonated with the 17 House members who followed Obi and Kwankwaso across the floor.

The NDC’s gains are not limited to the House. On Tuesday, Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, also announced his resignation from the ADC and his defection to the NDC. Umeh’s letter was read on the Senate floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Explaining his decision, Umeh cited persistent internal crises within the ADC, marked by multiple litigations, and noted that he had resigned from the ADC since May 1. With Umeh’s defection, the NDC now has two senators, joining Seriake Dickson, who had aligned with the party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party. In contrast, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South, also dumped the ADC but returned to the Labour Party rather than joining the NDC.

The ADC has responded to the cascade of defections by downplaying their significance. Party spokesman Abdulsamad Abdullahi described Obi and Kwankwaso’s exit as “a setback but not a fatal blow” to the opposition alliance. However, the arithmetic is unforgiving. Within 48 hours, the ADC has lost its two most prominent presidential candidates, one of its most respected senators, and 17 members of the House of Representatives. The party that was meant to be the flagship of opposition unity is now struggling to retain relevance. Political analysts tracking the realignments note that the defections are being driven not only by personality clashes but also by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s May 10 deadline for submission of party membership registers. To be eligible to contest any elective office in 2027, an aspirant must be a registered member of a political party. With the ADC’s legal future uncertain following a recent Supreme Court judgment that referred key disputes back to the trial court, many politicians are fleeing to what they perceive as safer havens.

The defections are also a reminder of the fragile nature of Nigeria’s political party system. In a country where parties are often built around individual leaders rather than ideological platforms, the movement of a few powerful figures can trigger a cascade. The 17 lawmakers who left the ADC for the NDC did not hide this fact. In their letters, they repeatedly cited “wide consultations with political stakeholders and constituents,” a phrase that in Nigerian political parlance often signals that they have followed the direction of a party patron. For the NDC, the challenge is now to hold together this coalition of defectors, which includes former Labour Party members, former ADC members, and politicians from other backgrounds. The party’s chairman issues statements of stability, but the true test will come during the primary elections, when multiple aspirants must compete for a single ticket. Until then, the NDC is the beneficiary of a crisis not of its own making. The ADC, meanwhile, is left to count its losses and wonder what might have been.

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