Labour Party Senator Onyewuchi Defects to APC

Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi, the senator representing Imo East and a member of the Labour Party (LP), has officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defection was announced on Tuesday when Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Onyewuchi’s letter on the Senate floor. Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, who also chairs the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), was present during the announcement.

Onyewuchi cited Section 68(1g) of the Nigerian constitution as the basis for his defection, attributing his decision to persistent divisions and crises within the Labour Party. In his letter, Onyewuchi stated, “This decision is due to the intractable division and crisis in the Labour Party that sponsored the earlier election into the Nigerian Senate. The communication is therefore made pursuant to Section 68(1g) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.”

He also expressed unity under Governor Uzodimma’s leadership, saying, “Imo state and the entirety of the south-east remain united under the leadership of our performing governor, his excellency, Hope Uzodimma.”

Following the reading of the letter, Senate President Akpabio instructed the sergeant-at-arms to assign Onyewuchi a new seat among the majority lawmakers.

With Onyewuchi’s defection, the number of LP senators in the upper legislative chamber has decreased to five.