Some 37 members of the House of Representatives defected to the opposition on Wednesday, December 19, 2013.

Nigeria’s People’s Democratic Party of President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday, December 18, 2013, lost its majority in Parliament as 37 members of the House of Representatives defected to the rival All Progressives’ Congress, APC. The defections are apparently in preparation for crucial elections in 2015.

Nigerian Tribune yesterday, December 19, 2013, said the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday, announced the defection of the PDP by reading a letter dated December 18, 2013, jointly signed by the defectors and addressed to him. The dissidents said they hinged their decision for joining the opposition on the division and factionalisation within the PDP. The MPs who defected are 11 from Kano, 10 from Sokoto, nine from Rivers, six from Kwara and one each from Katsina and Bauchi States.

Thisday newspaper yesterday said though PDP still maintains a majority in the Senate or Upper House of Parliament, 22 PDP senators are also said to be preparing to defect. APC now has 174 members in the House of Representatives, up from 137, while the PDP has dropped from 208 to 171 lawmakers. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a stalwart of the PDP, met with APC leaders on Wednesday and announced that he would consult with his associates before deciding whether to join the opposition party or not.