Abaribe: ADP Demands Uniform Enforcement of Constitution

The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has called on the leadership of the Nigerian Senate to apply constitutional provisions on defection uniformly, warning against what it described as selective enforcement.

In a press statement issued on Sunday and signed by its National Chairman, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, the party responded to remarks reportedly made by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, suggesting that the seat of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe could be declared vacant due to alleged defection.

The party stated that Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) clearly 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 the House was elected, except in the event of a party merger or division.

According to the ADP, the constitutional provision is mandatory and leaves no room for discretionary interpretation.
The party cited decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in cases such as Amaechi v. INEC (2007) and Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly (2015), which affirmed that electoral mandates belong to political parties rather than individual candidates.

ADP further drew attention to the case of Senator Pam Nwadkon Dachungyang, who was elected on the party’s platform to represent the Plateau North Senatorial District but later resigned from the party and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party said the defection occurred at a time when there was no merger, division, or internal crisis within the ADP that could justify the move under the constitutional exception.

“If the Constitution is to be invoked in one case, it must be invoked in all similar cases,” the statement said.

The party warned that selective enforcement would undermine Sections 1(1) and 1(3) of the Constitution, which establish the supremacy of the Constitution over all authorities and persons in the country.

ADP therefore urged the Senate leadership to demonstrate commitment to constitutional order by applying Section 68(1)(g) impartially and without regard to political affiliation.

“The Constitution is not partisan. It is supreme. Nigeria’s democracy demands nothing less,” the statement concluded.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents Abia South, may lose his seat after resigning from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and declaring his move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 elections.

His resignation letter was read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Some senators, including Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, objected to the defection and questioned the reason he gave.

Abaribe said he left because of a leadership crisis in APGA and claimed he had already been expelled from the party in September 2025.

Akpabio asked him to submit proof of the expulsion within a week and gave him until the next Senate sitting to reconsider his resignation before the chamber takes a constitutional position.

It remains unclear whether Abaribe had already registered as a member of ADC before submitting his resignation letter.