T ension briefly rose in the Nigerian Senate on Thursday after lawmakers questioned the reason given by Eyinnaya Abaribe for leaving the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The issue came up during plenary when the defection letter of the Abia South senator was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In the letter, Abaribe said he decided to dump APGA because of a crisis within the party. But several senators immediately challenged the claim. They insisted there was no internal division in APGA that could legally justify the move under the Nigerian Constitution. Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau was among the first to raise concerns. He reminded the chamber that the law allows a legislator to defect only under specific conditions. “The Constitution provides that a legislator may change political parties only under specific circumstances such as when there is a division within the party they were elected under or when there is...
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