The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of applying the constitutional provisions on legislative defections selectively, alleging that the Senate leadership remained silent when one of its own senators defected but is now threatening action in another case.
In a press statement issued on March 15, 2026, the National Chairman of the party, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, said the party was disturbed by public statements attributed to Akpabio suggesting that the seat of Enyinnaya Abaribe could be declared vacant over alleged defection.
Sani stressed that Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) clearly provides that a member of the National Assembly must vacate his or her seat if they defect to another political party before the expiration of the tenure for which the House was elected, except in cases of division or merger within the party.
“Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is mandatory. It provides that a member of the National Assembly ‘shall vacate his seat’ if he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the tenure for which that House was elected, except in cases of division or merger,” Sani stated.
He noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that electoral mandates belong to political parties and not individuals, citing the landmark judgments in Amaechi v. INEC (2007) and Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly (2015).
The ADP chairman, however, said the Senate leadership failed to raise similar concerns when Pam Nwadkon Dachungyang, who was elected on the platform of the ADP, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, the defection occurred without any division, merger, or internal crisis within the ADP, conditions that would ordinarily justify such a move under the Constitution.
“ADP therefore calls attention to the undisputed fact that Senator Pam Nwadkon Dachungyang, elected on the platform of ADP to represent Plateau North Senatorial District, voluntarily resigned from the party and defected to the APC at a time when there was no division, merger, or internal crisis within ADP,” Sani said.
He argued that despite the constitutional implication of the move, the Senate leadership “kept quiet” and did not initiate any process to enforce the relevant provision.
“If the Constitution is to be invoked in one case, it must be invoked in all similar cases. Selective enforcement would not only offend Sections 1(1) and 1(3) of the Constitution—which establish constitutional supremacy—but would also erode public confidence in the impartiality of the Senate,” he added.
Sani warned that applying the constitutional provision selectively would undermine democratic principles and weaken trust in public institutions.
“The Constitution is not partisan. It is supreme,” he said.
The ADP chairman therefore urged the Senate leadership to demonstrate fidelity to constitutional order by applying Section 68(1)(g) uniformly and without regard to political alignment, stressing that Nigeria’s democracy depends on consistency and fairness in the enforcement of the law.
