Three members of the House of Representatives have dumped their various parties for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, while presiding over the House disclosed that that Shehu Dalhatu, representing Faskari/Kankara/Sabuwa Federal Constituency of Katsina State, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, for the PDP.

In his letter of defection, Dalhatu said he resolved to join the PDP after careful consideration of the issues in the APC and having consulted with his constituencies.

Another House member from Delta State, Etanabene Benedict, on his part, left the Labour Party for the PDP, attributing his move to the crisis in the Labour Party  in the state.

Also, the member representing Yakurr/Abi constituency in Cross River state, Alex Egbona, dumped the APC for the PDP, noting, however, that his commitment to the House and his constituency remains unshakeable.

DAILY POST had earlier reported that six Oyo PDP lawmakers at the green chamber defected to the Allied Peoples Movement, APM.

Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has reacted to the defection of Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Odinkalu, in a post on X on Tuesday, described the development as “organized crime,” insisting that no court ruling could justify the circumstances surrounding Chinda’s move to the ruling party.

His reaction comes amid controversy surrounding the announcement by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, that Chinda had defected from the PDP to the APC.

The Speaker, during plenary on Tuesday, read a letter notifying the House of Chinda’s defection.
However, the letter was dated April 23, 2026.

The development comes after Chinda had already emerged as the APC governorship candidate in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 election.

Following the announcement of his defection, Chinda resigned his position as Minority Leader of the House.

Reacting, Odinkalu noted that Chinda was selected as the APC governorship candidate for Rivers State while he was still serving as Minority Leader on the platform of the PDP.

According to him, efforts may be made to legitimise the situation through the courts, but he maintained that the circumstances surrounding the defection could not be justified.

DAILY POST reports that Chinda is currently facing a lawsuit over allegations that his defection from the PDP to the APC did not follow due process.

The House of Representatives is expected to elect a new Minority Leader following his resignation.

He wrote: “Today, the speaker of @HouseNGR has announced the defection of my good friend, @OKChinda, from @OfficialPDPNig to @OfficialAPCNg.

“It is claimed he also now ceases to be #MinorityLeader of the House. They back-dated the letter of notification to 23 April.

“Last month, while still the Minority Leader of the House, Chinda was selected to be the candidate of the ruling @OfficialAPCNg for governorship of Rivers State in #NigeriaDecides2027.

“I am sure they have lined up their #FullyOwned judges to make this look kosher with a suitable court order. But no amount of #CourtWashing can clean this up. It is #OrganizedCrime. Period!”

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Tuesday expressed distress over the recent kidnapping of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of the state.

Makinde noted that this is not the time to cast blames on the governor of the state or President Bola Tinubu, stressing that Nigerians should unite in the fight against insecurity.

The governor spoke during a peaceful protest led by the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC, and the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, at the his office in Ibadan.

“This is a time of national distress. It is not the time to trade blames. It is not the time to play politics. I am personally distressed. My own father was a primary school teacher. He actually taught at Awole Dada, less than 15 kilometres away from where this incident happened. My father was there in 1959 and 1960. If something like this had happened to him, maybe I wouldn’t even have been born,” he said.

The governor insisted that the tragedy should not become a platform for political finger-pointing, stressing that the challenge of insecurity requires a united response.

“This is not the time for us to say it is the President that should have handled this, or it is the Governor, or the local government. This is a time to pull together as one,” he said.