The camp of the caucus of the All Progressives Congress at the House of Representatives gained additional two members on Wednesday.
The lawmakers defected from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party to the majority party on the floor of the House.
They were Mr. Tony Nwoye, from Anambra-East / West Federal Constituency of Anambra State, and Mr. Emmanuel Udende from Katsina-Ala Federal Constituency of Benue State.
Incidentally, Nwoye is a former chairman of the Anambra State chapter of the PDP.
The two lawmakers alluded to alleged “crises” in the PDP as the reason for their action.
The development raised the numerical strength of the APC to 215, while the PDP’s dropped to 138.
Members of the majority party celebrated the defection as they hugged, sang and shook hands with Nwoye and Udende.
But in the camp of the PDP, there was displeasure, as many opposition lawmakers wore long faces over the defection.
At a point, the Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor, a PDP legislator from Delta State, led a protest to halt the defection but he failed.
Ogor had raised a point of order, urging the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, to declare the seats of Nwoye and Udende vacant on the grounds that the PDP was neither factionalised nor in crisis.
But he lost the bid after Dogara, an APC member from Dass/Bogoro/Tafawa Belwa in Bauchi State, overruled him.
Nwoye and Udende quickly paid homage to the Speaker and other APC principal officers of the House and resumed their seats.
The development came as the House called for an investigation into the recent killings in Ekiti State by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
The House adopted and passed a resolution on a motion on “the fatal invasion of Oke Ako community by suspected herdsmen.”
It was sponsored by Mr. Emmanuel Agboola, who also appealed for relief materials to be sent to the surviving victims of the invasion.
He noted that farmers in the state were frequently attacked by herdsmen due to what he termed “uncoordinated grazing.”
Agboola stated, “Lives are randomly lost in these incessant attacks and sometimes in a dimension that is similar only to genocide, just like the one at Oke Ako in Ekiti state.
“Certain states are already taking steps to stem the tide in a manner that suggests that the Federal Government is seemingly insensitive to this very worrisome development.”
PUNCH.
