The wave of defections sweeping through Nigeria’s House of Representatives gathered pace on Thursday as more lawmakers abandoned their parties for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), deepening signs of political realignment ahead of the next election cycle.
The latest moves came only days after 17 lawmakers crossed to the NDC, reinforcing what observers increasingly describe as an organised push by opposition forces to build a broad coalition capable of mounting a serious challenge to President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
During plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, five lawmakers formally announced their defections, citing internal crises, leadership disputes and ideological differences within their former parties.
Among those who switched allegiance was Muhammed El-Rufai, who left the APC for the NDC. Also joining the NDC were Joshua Obika, who represents the Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kuje/Kwali federal constituency of the Federal Capital Territory, and Abdulhakeem Kamilu, who defected from the ADC.
Two lawmakers from Kaduna State, Suleiman Richifa and Umar Ajilo, also left the Peoples Democratic Party for the ADC.
Muhammed El-Rufai’s decision is likely to attract particular political attention given months of speculation surrounding his future and the deteriorating relationship between his father, former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, and the Tinubu administration.
Though the younger El-Rufai had largely kept a low profile in recent months, his move to the NDC is widely viewed as a pointed political signal amid growing tensions between the former governor and the federal government.
Nasir El-Rufai, once regarded as one of the APC’s most influential figures and a key ally of Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign, has become increasingly critical of the ruling party and the direction of the administration in recent months.
His failed ministerial nomination in 2023 was widely seen as the beginning of a visible rupture with the presidency. Since then, the former governor has repeatedly accused the APC leadership of abandoning internal democracy and marginalising key stakeholders within the party.
For Obika, Thursday’s announcement marked his third political movement in under two years. Elected to the House in 2023 on the platform of the Labour Party, he joined the APC in March 2026 before now defecting again to the NDC.
Announcing his latest switch on the floor of the House, Obika aligned himself with the growing opposition coalition rallying around the NDC.
Kamilu, who represents Wudil/Garko federal constituency in Kano State, resigned from the ADC, citing what he described as an “internal leadership crisis” within the party. He had only recently joined the ADC from the New Nigeria People’s Party, the platform on which he won election in 2023.
Richifa and Ajilo blamed their departure from the PDP on what they described as a prolonged crisis engulfing the party “from the state to the national level”.
Thursday’s defections further reshaped the balance of forces in the House and strengthened expectations that more lawmakers could switch allegiances in the months ahead as coalition talks intensify before the next round of national elections.
