Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ethiope federal constituency of Delta State, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made in a letter addressed to Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and read on the floor of the House on Thursday.
Mrs. Ibori-Suenu, daughter of former Delta governor James Ibori, won the 2023 election on the PDP platform despite her father’s political differences with former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
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Mr. Ibori, a close ally of President Bola Tinubu, had a fallout with Mr. Okowa over the choice of candidate for the 2023 governorship polls. The former governor supported David Edebvie, but Mr. Okowa successfully navigated Sheriff Oborevwori through the party primary.
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Following the defection announcement, Ali Isa, the minority whip, protested and called for the declaration of the seat vacant. However, the call was ignored by the speaker.
Mr. Ibori visited President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in the early days of Tinubu’s administration last year. Both are members of the 1999/2007 class of governors.
This defection adds to the political shifts within the House of Representatives, as four Labour Party lawmakers also recently defected to the APC.
