By Mu’azzam Kano
The recent wave of defections by federal opposition lawmakers to the All Progressives Congress has increased the ruling party’s majority in the National Assembly to 265.
This comes as the country’s major opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party continue to grapple with internal crises.
The National Assembly, as currently constituted, comprises the Senate with 109 seats, and the House of Representatives, with 360 seats.
At the commencement of the 10th Assembly under the leadership of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the APC controlled 59 seats in the Red Chamber and 175 in the Green Chamber.
The opposition parties also had a strong presence in both chambers, holding 182 seats in the House of Representatives and 50 in the Senate.
In the House, the breakdown showed the PDP had 118 lawmakers, followed by the LP (35), NNPP (19), All Progressives Grand Alliance (five), Social Democratic Party (two), African Democratic Congress (two), and the Young Progressives Party (one), while two seats were declared vacant.
In the Senate, the PDP held 36 seats, LP (eight), NNPP (two), SDP (two), APGA (one), and YPP (one), making a total of 50.
Between then and now, no fewer than 30 lawmakers, comprising six senators and 24 House members, have dumped the opposition parties and defected to the ruling APC.
Of the six senators, four were from the PDP, while the remaining two were from the LP and NNPP.
Among the 24 representatives, 16 were from the PDP, five from the LP, and three from the NNPP.
Overall, the APC now controls 265 seats across the two chambers, while opposition lawmakers have been reduced to 202.