Three legislators yesterday switched parties as a fresh round of defections hit the Senate.

Deputy Minority Whip Rufai Hanga (Kano Central) defected from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), with Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) and Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) dumping the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the Labour Party (LP) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) respectively.

The defections were formally announced through letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read on the floor during plenary.

Umeh blamed unresolved internal divisions in the ADC and litigation for his exit. Abaribe attributed his defection to the party’s deepening crisis, saying: “My decision is anchored on the now well‑known leadership crisis within the ADC, occasioned by multiple legal issues besetting the party.”