The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Wednesday announced the defection of Senator Kevin Chukwu, representing Enugu East Senatorial District, from the Labour Party (LP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with a blend of satire and celebration that underscored the growing depletion of the opposition ranks in the upper legislative chamber.

The defection, which took place during plenary, was accompanied by dramatic exchanges between Akpabio, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, who took a swipe at his defecting colleague, describing him as a beneficiary of a “sympathy vote” from the 2023 elections.

Before reading Chukwu’s defection letter, Akpabio could not resist teasing the dwindling minority caucus in his trademark humour.

“To the All Progressives Congress, the only party, please receive and celebrate your colleague,” Akpabio said, as the chamber erupted in laughter.

He said: “I used to worry about the left side of the aisle, but I am no longer worried. If they like, let them all move here.

“I only wanted a few of them to remain. Senator Osita Ngwu, Minority Leader, and Senator Abba Moro, you are the only ones left to hold.

“Even Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, from the look on his face, doesn’t seem ready to join us. But your party is in tatters. What are you waiting for?”

Akpabio then proceeded to read Chukwu’s formal letter of resignation from the Labour Party and notification of his decision to join the APC.

In the letter addressed to the Senate President, Chukwu said his decision followed “extensive consultations” with his constituents and political stakeholders in Enugu East and across Enugu State.

“Recent developments within the Labour Party, including internal wranglings, leadership crisis, policy disagreements, and lack of cohesion and focus at both state and national levels, have made it increasingly difficult for me to effectively discharge my duties to the people,” Chukwu stated.

He further declared that the APC, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, “provides a more stable, progressive and inclusive platform for achieving our shared goals of economic growth, good governance, national unity, social development and progress for Nigeria”.

Akpabio, after reading the letter, formally accepted the defection.

“Your defection is accepted, noted and applauded. Welcome to the progressive family,” he declared.

Senate Leader and APC Caucus Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, seized the moment to congratulate his new party colleague, arguing that defections from the opposition parties were reflections of Nigeria’s political realities.

He said: “Every politician is local. They know the thinking of their people. They know it is in the overriding public interest that they do what they are doing.

“We will continue to work with our colleagues in the minority side as more of them also look forward to joining us.”

In a tone laden with political metaphor, Bamidele added: “My mother used to tell me, Senator Abba Moro, that she would never say nobody should die in war, but she would also never say heaven should be empty.”

Bamidele added: “God created heaven for people to go there after living good lives. I want a strong and vibrant opposition, but where they cannot organize themselves, the right thing to do is to join us so we can move this country forward. Please, put your house in order.”

The Senate Leader’s remarks drew laughter across the chamber, but Minority Leader, Senator Moro, quickly rose to respond.

With measured restraint, he congratulated his former colleague while throwing a subtle jab at the circumstances surrounding his election and defection.

Moro said: “Mr. President, with due respect, I want to say that no matter the number here, we are capable of holding our own.

“Those who are gravitating towards the majority side are exercising their rights. But my brother and friend, Kevin, who has just left the third row here to go to the last row there, I wish him well.

“But when it was announced that he was going, I asked, who did he consult? Because he didn’t talk to me.

“I do know that our politics are local. My brother came here for the Obedient Movement. He came here on the sympathy vote because an accident happened, but that is a story for another day.”

Moro referred to Chukwu’s emergence following the tragic assassination of his elder brother, Oyibo Chukwu, who was the Labour Party’s senatorial candidate during the 2023 elections.

Turning to Akpabio, the Minority Leader expressed concern about the Senate chamber becoming “too full” on the majority side, warning that political balance should remain a concern.

“This house is becoming too full, Mr. President, and it should be of concern to you. For the rest of us that are here, we will try to remain here until 2027,” he said.

Akpabio, maintaining his light-hearted tone, replied: “Well, if you are waiting to cross over in 2027, no problem. Remain there. Your observations are noted.”

Chukwu’s defection further consolidates the APC’s dominance in the 10th Senate and deepens the political struggles within opposition parties, particularly the Labour Party, which has been battling leadership disputes and internal divisions since the 2023 general election.

Meanwhile, two new senators, Joseph Ikpea (Edo Central) of the APC and Nwachukwu Chibuzor (Anambra South) of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), were sworn in earlier in the day by the Senate President, bringing the chamber to its full complement of 109 members.

Akpabio congratulated the new lawmakers, urging them to “work harmoniously across party lines in the interest of national development”.

With Wednesday’s events, the Senate witnessed both political drama and legislative symbolism, one underscoring the shifting balance of power and the other, the steady restoration of its full membership. (THISDAY)