Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has almost effectively secured the parliamentary numbers required to alter the country’s constitution without relying heavily on opposition support, consolidating an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly.
With 84 senators and 231 seats in the House of Representatives, the party has already crossed the critical two-thirds threshold needed to push through constitutional amendments in the Senate, placing extraordinary legislative power in the hands of the governing party, which now has 31 governors nationwide.
The development marks one of the most dramatic shifts in Nigeria’s parliamentary balance in recent years, effectively giving the APC the numerical strength to determine the direction of constitutional reforms within the legislature.
The consolidation of power became even more pronounced in the Senate after three additional lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), further shrinking the opposition’s caucus to just 14 senators. The latest defections underscore the deepening crisis within the PDP and indeed the opposition parties, and highlight the accelerating erosion of their influence in the upper chamber.
With the numbers now firmly in its favour, the APC holds the capacity to drive constitutional alterations through the National Assembly largely on its own. Although constitutional amendments must still pass through other procedural stages, including concurrence by state assemblies, the ruling party’s dominance at the federal legislature as well as State Assemblies, significantly strengthens its ability to shape the outcome of the process.
Specifically, the APC on Wednesday strengthened its dominance in the Senate as three more PDP) senators defected to the governing party, totalling 84 senators for the ruling APC.
Unfortunately, this development which seemed to have excited the APC leadership carries with it an albatross for the nation’s democracy, leaving the opposition with no say whatsoever at all in critical state matters.
To take or make any significant constitutional decisions, the senate requires 73 of its members, sometimes requiring a collaboration with the opposition parties.
However, with the 84 senators to the credit of the APC, the party is not just in a vantage position, it can by itself alter the constitution without recourse to the opposition all because of the power of its current number strength.
The latest development has pushed the APC’s strength in the Senate to 84 members while its membership in the 360-seat House of Representatives has risen to about 231 lawmakers, giving the ruling party overwhelming control of the federal legislature, since it would only need nine opposition legislators at that level to pass critical bills. THISDAY’s checks showed that the lower chamber will require 240 legislators to achieve a two third majority.
With this configuration, the APC now holds a dominant majority, placing it in a comfortable position to push through executive-sponsored legislation, including constitutional amendments, fiscal and appropriation bills, and other key government policies.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the latest defections during plenary after reading the letters submitted by the lawmakers.
The defecting senators were Amos Yunana (Adamawa North), Aminu IyaAbbas (Adamawa Central), and Ikra Aliyu Bilbis (Zamfara Central).
Their movement to the ruling party came barely 24 hours after Ipalibo Banigo(Rivers West) also defected from the PDP to the APC.
The latest defections reduced PDP’s strength in the Senate from 17 to 14 members, while the APC increased its tally from 81 to 84 senators, further widening the gap between the ruling party and the opposition in the upper legislative chamber.
The Senate currently has 106 serving members instead of the constitutionally required 109, following the deaths of Godiya Akwashiki (Nasarawa North), Okechukwu Ezea (Enugu North), and Barinada Mpigi (Rivers South East).
Despite the vacancies, political analysts say the APC’s numerical advantage gives it overwhelming legislative leverage, particularly on bills that require special majority votes.
In the House of Representatives, the ruling party has also strengthened its position following months of defections by lawmakers from opposition parties. Current records indicate that the APC now controls about 231 seats in the 360-member chamber, representing more than 64 per cent of the total membership.
The PDP currently holds about 83 seats, while the Labour Party has 22 lawmakers in the House.
Other parties represented in the House included the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with 15 members, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with five seats, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with two seats, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP) with one seat each.
At the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023, the political balance in the House was far more fragmented. The APC had 162 seats at the time, while the PDP controlled 102 seats.
The Labour Party (LP) had 34 lawmakers, the NNPP held 18 seats, APGA had four members, while the ADC and SDP each had two members, and the YPP had one.
However, sustained cross-carpeting by lawmakers, mostly from the PDP, Labour Party and NNPP, has significantly strengthened the APC dominance in the chamber.
In the Senate, the shift in political alignment has also been dramatic. While the APC now holds 84 seats, the PDP has dropped sharply from its initial 36 senators at the inauguration of the 10th Assembly to just 14 members.
Other parties have also witnessed significant changes.
The Labour Party, which began the assembly with eight senators, currently has no representation in the chamber, while the NNPP retains only one seat, down from two.
Similarly, the SDP has lost its two seats in the Senate, but the ADC now holds five seats despite starting the 10th Assembly without any representation.
A newly registered political platform, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) also has one senator in the person of Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West), while APGA retains one seat in the chamber.
Speaking on the development, Akpabio described the wave of defections as unprecedented since Nigeria gained independence in 1960.
He said the current political realignment represented a reversal of what occurred during the 8th Senate in 2018 when the APC lost several lawmakers to the PDP, including the then Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Akpabio said, “To me, what is happening now between PDP and APC senators is more like a one-all draw.
“In 2018 during the 8th National Assembly, about 30 senators defected from APC to PDP in a single day. Now, during the 10th National Assembly, PDP senators are the ones defecting in large numbers to the APC.”
He attributed the trend to the economic and governance reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, which he said had stabilised the nation’s economy.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said the influx of lawmakers into the ruling party demonstrated growing confidence in the administration of Tinubu.
According to him, the defecting lawmakers were responding to what they see as positive governance signals from the federal government.
“The defectors are not daft. They can see that something is working in the country for the good of all Nigerians, and they want to be part of the process within the APC caucus,” Bamidele said.
Political observers have concluded that the current party configuration in the National Assembly significantly strengthened the ruling party’s legislative leverage.
They noted that with its commanding majority in both chambers, the APC was well-positioned to secure the votes required to pass executive-sponsored legislation, including amendments to the Constitution, fiscal measures and other critical policy proposals.
Analysts have, however, raised concerns that the continued wave of defections might weaken the influence of opposition parties in the National Assembly and reduce the level of parliamentary scrutiny of government policies as the country gradually moves toward the 2027 general election.
Sunday Aborisade
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