- There was a mild drama at the House of Representatives on Thursday, December 5, as Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu, the daughter of former Delta governor, James Ibori, dumped the PDP and joined the APC’s caucus
- Mrs Ibori-Suenu announced her defection to the ruling APC in a letter read on the floor of the House on Thursday
- Her father, Ibori served as the governor of Delta state from 1999 to 2007 and is believed to have retained his hold on the political structure of the the PDP in the state
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
In what could be described as a political fallout, on Thursday, December 5, Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu, a member of the House of Representatives who represents the Ethiope federal constituency of Delta state, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Photo credit: Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu
Source: Facebook
Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu defects to APC
Mrs Ibori-Suenu, is the daughter of James Ibori, who served as the governor of Delta state from 1999 to 2007.
She announced her defection in a letter addressed to the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, which was read on the floor of the House on Thursday, December 5, 2024.
The lawmaker won the 2023 election on the platform of the PDP despite his father’s political differences with former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Business Day reported that the lawmaker blamed intra-party crisis for her defection to the ruling APC.
Minority whip move against Ibori’s daughter’s defection
PremiumTimes reported that Mrs Ibori-Suenu’s defection was greeted with a mild drama on the floor of the House.
Following the announcement of the defection on the floor, Ali Isa, minority whip, protested and called for the declaration of the seat vacant.
However, the call was ignored by the speaker in the usual manner.
Ibori’s fallout with Okowa explained
Meanwhile, Mr Ibori, a close ally of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had a fall out with Mr Okowa over the choice of candidate for the governorship polls in 2023.
Believed to be the strongman of Delta politics, the former governor supported David Edebvie for the ticket, but was outfoxed by Mr Okowa, who was able to navigate Sheriff Oborevwori through the party primary.
Mr Ibori visited President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in the early days of the latter’s administration. They are both members of the 1999/2007 class of governors.
Read more about defection stories here:
4 Reps member dump Labour Party for APC
Similarly, Legit.ng reported that four Labour Party (LP) house of representatives members have left the party.
The defecting federal lawmakers joined the ruling APC.
Their letter of defection to the APC was read on the floor of the Green Chamber by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on Thursday.
Source: Legit.ng
