The House of Representatives on Tuesday, 2 June, 2026 resumed plenary after the Eid-el-Kabir break and primary elections of the various political parties.

The resumptiom was hit by a wave of fresh defections and political realignments, with the  Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda and 12 other lawmakers announcing their defections to different political parties.

The development, which was formally communicated during plenary, cut across major political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), African People’s Movement (APM), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

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Leading the list of defectors was Kingsley Chinda, who left the People’s Democratic (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His defection will lead to changes in the House leadership structure, as the office of Minority Leader is traditionally occupied by a member of the leading opposition party.

Also defecting from the PDP to the Allied People’s Movement (APM) were six lawmakers from Oyo State: Anthony Adebayo, Adedeji Olajide, Sunday Makanjuola, Oyedeji Oyeshina, Fola Oyekunle, and Adigun Adekunle.

Auwalu Gwalabe of Bauchi State also dumped the PDP for the APM.

Also, Shehu Dalhatu of Katsina State left the APC for the PDP, while Alex Egbona also defected from the APC to the PDP.

Etanabene Benedict of Delta State moved from the Labour Party (LP) to the PDP, strengthening the opposition party’s numbers in the Green Chamber.

Meanwhile, Esosa Iyawe of Edo State defected from the APC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), while Gbefwi Gaza of Nasarawa State left the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the Labour Party (LP).