Seventeen members of House of Representatives have defected from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), barely days after former presidential candidates Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso joined the party.
The mass defection was formally announced on the floor of the House during plenary on Tuesday.
The lawmakers who switched to the NDC include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande, Munachim Umezuruike, Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, and Abdulhakeem Ado.
One other ADC member, Leke Abejide, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The development follows the high-profile entry of Obi and Kwankwaso into the NDC on Sunday, which has triggered a fresh wave of realignments in the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Reacting to the influx of politicians into the NDC, the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, urged Nigerians to disregard negative narratives targeting the party.
“As an ambitious project, the NDC will naturally attract rumours, gossip and even blackmail. These are expected parts of the terrain,” Dickson said.f9e7b6
He described the recent developments as “a powerful convergence” of political forces and outlined the party’s long-term vision.
“Our goal in the NDC is to build an ideological political party, one that can be compared to the ANC in its finest years in South Africa, as well as established political parties across Europe, America, India and even the Communist Party of China — in terms of stability, structure, and the ability to endure beyond its founders for generations to come,” Dickson added.81f185
Dickson insisted that the NDC’s registration process dates back to 2017 and called on youths and women to register with the party and participate actively in the democratic process.
ANN analysts view the latest defections as a significant boost for the NDC, positioning it as a potential major platform capable of challenging the ruling APC in the next general elections.
