Lawmakers Shift Parties
Oyo State Lawmakers Lead House Defections to Makinde's APM Amid PDP Crises
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Key Points
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Speaker Tajudeen Abbas said the party-change notices he read in plenary were contained in 13 letters and that the letters “bore various dates in May,” indicating the defections were processed over multiple weeks rather than immediately on the day they were announced.
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The House defections were announced upon resumption “following the Sallah break,” with Abbas reading the letters during the Tuesday plenary session after the holiday recess.
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The shift toward APM was tied to Governor Seyi Makinde’s political consolidation: one report notes Makinde had not only defected to APM but “emerged the presidential candidate of the APM for the 2027 election.”
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In explaining his APC-to-PDP move, Katsina lawmaker Shehu Dalhatu wrote: “After careful consideration of the issues in the APC and having consulted with my constituencies, I have settled to join the PDP.”
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On his APC-to-PDP defection, Alex Egbona said his “commitment to the House and his constituency remains unwavering,” according to the letter read/covered in the reports.
Six of Oyo State's 14 federal lawmakers quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, as Speaker Tajudeen Abbas read 13 defection letters on the House floor after the Sallah recess. The mass exit strips the PDP of nearly half its Oyo caucus and hands Governor Seyi Makinde — now the APM's 2027 presidential candidate — a growing national footprint. Newsposl reported the announcement came during Tuesday's plenary session.
The Oyo shift was the biggest single move, but it was far from alone. In all, lawmakers changed parties across six different parties on the same day, with the APM, PDP, APC, Labour Party, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) all gaining or losing members. The defections signal an early scramble for position ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Makinde's APM Absorbs Nearly Half of Oyo Caucus
The six Oyo lawmakers who crossed to the APM cited the PDP's "prolonged internal crisis and leadership disputes" as their reason for leaving, according to The Point NG. That brings APM's total House gains on the day to seven seats — six from Oyo and one from Auwalu Gwalabe, who also switched from the PDP to the APM. Six out of 14 members amounts to 42.8% of the entire Oyo federal caucus moving in a single day.
The moves tie directly to Makinde's own exit from the PDP. Newsposl noted that Makinde had not only defected to the APM but "emerged the presidential candidate of the APM for the 2027 election." By anchoring an existing governorship and a growing legislative bloc to one party, the APM is building the kind of structural base that past "third force" bids in Nigeria — including the Labour Party's 2023 surge — largely lacked.
Minority Leader Chinda Quits PDP, Crosses to APC
Perhaps the sharpest single blow to the PDP came from its own Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda. Chinda defected from the PDP to the APC and stepped down from his minority leadership role on the same day. Losing the Minority Leader does not just cost the PDP a vote — it costs them their top tactical voice inside the House.
The PDP's losses on the day were steep. The party lost six members to the APM, lost Chinda to the APC, and lost one member to the NDC. It did pick up Katsina's Shehu Dalhatu and Cross River's Alex Egbona from the APC, plus Delta's Etanabene Benedict from the Labour Party. By the numbers, the PDP suffered a net loss of roughly four seats in a single session.
APC and PDP Swap Members as 2027 Jitters Bite
Dalhatu's exit from the APC was pointed. The Katsina lawmaker wrote: "After careful consideration of the issues in the APC and having consulted with my constituencies, I have settled to join the PDP." Katsina is the home state of former President Buhari, making a defection from the APC there a notable signal of grassroots discontent with the ruling party's direction. Alex Egbona, crossing the same way from APC to PDP, said his "commitment to the House and his constituency remains unwavering."
The APC, meanwhile, absorbed Chinda's high-profile switch as a gain, but net lost two seats on the day — Dalhatu and Egbona to the PDP, and Esosa Iyawe to the smaller NDC. Jonathan Gbefwi also moved, switching from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the Labour Party. The simultaneous flow of members from APC to PDP and PDP to APC underlines a pattern analysts describe as survivalist politics rather than any genuine ideological shift.
Letters Dated in May Show Weeks of Quiet Planning
Speaker Abbas told the House that the 13 letters he read "bore various dates in May," meaning the decisions were made and committed to paper over several weeks before any public announcement. The coordinated timing — held until the House resumed after the Sallah holiday — points to a carefully staged rollout rather than a spontaneous political reaction.
Civil society groups have already raised questions about the legality of the moves. The Constitution allows lawmakers to defect without losing their seats if they can show their original party is suffering an "internal crisis." Critics say that clause is being stretched broadly, with the PDP's well-documented internal disputes providing a convenient legal cover for what is, in practice, pre-election positioning. More defections may still be coming: the May dating on the letters suggests other signed documents could already exist, waiting to be read into the record before the current legislative session ends. Newsposl reported that political realignments are expected to continue ahead of 2027.
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