Gale of Defections: Labour Party suffers huge set back ahead 2027

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the once vibral Labour Party, LP, appears to be losing steam and membership strength across the country.

when the members-elect of the National Assembly were sworn in on 13 June, 2023, the LP had the third-largest caucus in the National Assembly, with 34 members in the House of Representatives and eight senators.

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, had the largest number of members, followed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Labour Party, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.

The Peter Obi effect had transformed the relatively obscure Labour Party into a national force, particularly in the Southeast, South-South, North-Central, and Lagos.

The top-to-bottom voting pattern helped elect several Labour Party lawmakers who rode on Obi’s popularity.

Eighteen months later, the Labour Party caucus in the National Assembly is rapidly depleting.

This is due to court rulings that removed four members— Senator Darlington Nwakocha, Stainless Nwodo from Enugu, Emeka Nnamani from Abia, and Chijioke Okereke from Enugu and a wave of defections shaking the party.

In the last 10 days alone, the Labour Party has lost six members in the House of Representatives to the ruling APC.

Last week, four members— Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency, Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency, Edo), left the party on the same day.

This week, Dalyop Chollom and Alfred Ajang, both from Plateau State, abandoned “Mama, Papa, and Pikin” and embraced the APC’s “broom.”

Earlier in July, Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi also defected from the Labour Party to the APC.

Unannounced Defections

several lawmakers in the House have defected without formally announcing it on the floor of the House.

For instance, some weeks ago, Thaddeus Atta, a Labour Party member, was spotted wearing a cap branded with President Bola Tinubu’s logo, fuelling rumours that he has joined the ruling party.

Most defecting lawmakers are citing the ongoing leadership crisis in the Labour Party to avoid sanctions under Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that a defector’s seat should be declared vacant.

However, the law provides an exception in cases of division within the party. It provides thus:

“68. (1) A member of the Senate or the House of Representatives shall vacate their seat in the House if—

“being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, they become a member of another political party before the expiration of the term of the House, provided that the membership of the latter political party is due to a division in the former party or a merger of two or more parties or factions of which they were previously a member.”

The Labour Party has been battling an internal crisis between the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Julius Abure and another faction led by Governor Alex Otti of Abia State.

Party Reaction

The Julius Abure-led NWC released a statement on Wednesday, announcing that it has launched a court case against the six defecting lawmakers.

In a statement sent by its spokesperson, Obiora Ifoh, the party vowed to demand the return of all salaries, emoluments, and privileges received by the lawmakers since their defection.

“These defections are unfortunate and condemnable. Politicians who abandon their constituents during critical times expose themselves as untrustworthy and undeserving of future public confidence,” Ifoh stated.

In the House, the head of the Labour Party caucus, George Ozodinobi, has been using the 2027 elections a warning against defecting lawmakers.

“I want to wish those of us who think defecting from Labour to APC is their best decision in politics well. We look forward to meeting them again in 2027, if they have the opportunity to be here.

“And for those of us still contemplating moving to another party, we wish you well,” Ozodinobi said following the latest defection,” he said.

It is unclear whether the other faction will support the Abure-led NWC in its case against the defectors.

Uncertain Future

many Labour Party members are uncertain about their future in the party due to the ongoing crisis and rumours of Peter Obi leaving the party to join the PDP.

Speculation about Obi’s intentions heightened some weeks ago when he met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, fuelling rumours of a potential joint ticket in 2027.

The Numbers Game

As a result of the recent defections, the Labour Party’s presence in the National Assembly has significantly diminished.

The number of Labour Party senators has reduced from eight to six, while its members in the House of Representatives have dropped from 34 to 26.

In total, the party now has 32 lawmakers in the National Assembly. In comparison, the NNPP has 22 lawmakers.

If the Labour Party continues to lose members, it risks becoming the fourth-largest party in the National Assembly.