LP Senators Reduce to Four as Kelvin Chukwu Defects to APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has further strengthened its hold on the Senate following the defection of Senator Kelvin Chukwu of Enugu East from the Labour Party (LP) to the APC.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced Chukwu’s defection during Wednesday’s plenary session, bringing the APC’s seats in the 10th Senate to 73, giving the party a solid two-thirds majority.

Chukwu, who succeeded his late brother Oyibo Chukwu in the 2023 elections, attributed his decision to the prolonged internal crisis within the Labour Party.

“The protracted crisis rocking the LP, which has led to its factionalisation, is seriously affecting its members,” he said.

With his exit, the Labour Party’s representation in the Senate has now dropped to four members, leaving Senator Okey Ezea (Enugu North) as the only LP senator from Enugu State.

The current Senate composition now stands as follows:

APC: 73 seats

PDP: 28 seats

SDP: 1 seat

NNPP: 1 seat

APGA: 2 seats

The development marks another win for the APC, which has recently welcomed several opposition senators, including Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East), Oluwole Olubiyi (Osun Central), Aniekan Bassey (Akwa Ibom North-East), and Samson Ekong (Akwa Ibom South)—all of whom left the PDP amid internal disputes.

Reacting to the defection, Akpabio joked about the state of opposition parties, saying:

“I want a strong and vibrant opposition in Nigeria. But where they cannot organise themselves and their parties are in tatters, the right thing is to join us so

we can move the country forward.”