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💥 Labour Party in Freefall: 21 Lawmakers Abandon Ship as 2027 Looms 💥

The house that Peter Obi built is cracking—and fast.

Once hailed as Nigeria’s fastest-rising political comet, the Labour Party (LP) is now hemorrhaging lawmakers like a sinking ship in stormy waters. Twenty-one. That’s how many elected LP politicians have turned their backs on the party since the 2023 general elections.

From Abuja’s red-carpeted Senate to state assemblies deep in the East, the exits have been swift, strategic, and damning.

🔥 The Domino Began in Imo
It all started quietly in July 2024 with the defection of Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi (Imo East) to the APC. But that was no ordinary resignation—it was a signal flare. Within weeks, five House of Reps members bolted:

Chinedu Okere – Imo

Mathew Donatus – Kaduna

Bassey Akiba – Cross River

Esosa Iyawe – Edo

Alfred Iliya Ajang – Plateau

Suddenly, the tide had turned.

💣 The Enugu Exodus
If LP had a fortress, it was Enugu. But even that stronghold collapsed. In what looked like a political jailbreak, six members of the Enugu State House of Assembly tore up their LP cards and embraced the PDP:

Ejike Eze

Johnson Ugwu

Pius Ezeuwa

Amuka William

Osita Eze

Princess Ugwu

And it didn’t stop there. Three federal reps from Enugu—Dennis Agbo, Chidi Obetta, and Sunday Umeha—followed, citing party disarray and lack of vision. One jumped to the APC; two to the PDP. By the time Malachi-Okey Onyechi, another Enugu state legislator, fled, even loyalists began to panic.

🛑 Senators Also Say Goodbye
The bleeding reached the Senate floor again with two big names bowing out:

Senator Ireti Kingibe – FCT

Senator Neda Imasuen – Edo South

Their exits weren’t quiet—they were thunderclaps. And then, just to round off the funeral procession, Chimaobi Atu and Paul Nnanchi, both Reps from Enugu, made their formal exits in mid-2025.

🧾 Full List of the 21 Defectors:
Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi – Imo East

Chinedu Okere – Reps, Imo

Mathew Donatus – Reps, Kaduna

Bassey Akiba – Reps, Cross River

Esosa Iyawe – Reps, Edo

Alfred Iliya Ajang – Reps, Plateau

Dalyop Chollom – Reps, Plateau

Ejike Eze – Enugu State Assembly

Johnson Ugwu – Enugu State Assembly

Pius Ezeuwa – Enugu State Assembly

Amuka William – Enugu State Assembly

Osita Eze – Enugu State Assembly

Princess Ugwu – Enugu State Assembly

Dennis Agbo – Reps, Enugu

Chidi Obetta – Reps, Enugu

Sunday Umeha – Reps, Enugu

Malachi-Okey Onyechi – Enugu State Assembly

Senator Ireti Kingibe – FCT

Senator Neda Imasuen – Edo South

Chimaobi Atu – Reps, Enugu

Paul Nnanchi – Reps, Enugu

🧨 Labour Party’s Counterattack: ‘Hall of Shame’
The LP isn’t going down quietly. National Publicity Secretary Obiorah Ifoh has declared war on the defectors. A “Hall of Shame” is in the works—a political blacklist. And the legal team? Activated.

Quoting Section 68(g) of the Constitution, Ifoh warned that lawmakers can’t switch parties unless there’s an internal division. “This is betrayal,” he thundered. “We will fight.”

🤔 Analysts Say: Peter Obi Was the Glue
According to political scientist Prof. Kamilu Sani Fage, the LP’s rapid rise was always fragile. It wasn’t a party with spine—it was a personality cult orbiting Peter Obi. Without him? The momentum collapses.

“The structure was Obi. Without him running, the party risks vanishing,” Fage said.

😱 Obi and Otti Exit Rumors Rattle Nerves
And now the rumour mill is spinning fast: Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti—the last titans holding the fort—may be plotting their exit. If they go, analysts warn, the LP’s obituary will be written in real time.

To add insult to injury, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is already warming up as the new darling of the opposition.

🎭 A Broader Crisis: Nigeria’s Ideology-Free Politics
In the end, this isn’t just LP’s tragedy—it’s Nigeria’s. A country where ideology takes a back seat and party hopping is just another Monday.

“These politicians have no ideology—just survival instincts,” says Ifoh.

Prof. Fage adds a chilling note: “When the opposition collapses, democracy dims. These mass defections are manufactured, not organic—and they weaken the soul of the system.”

🕳️ What’s Next?
For now, the Labour Party is in triage mode. But with 2027 around the corner, the clock is ticking. Can the party stitch together its wounds before the next battle? Or will it become just another forgotten flare in Nigeria’s turbulent political sky?

Only time—and Peter Obi—will tell.

By Haruna Yakubu Haruna