TheCable

Johnson Agbonayinma, a member of the house of representatives elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His defection was announced at plenary on Thursday in a letter read to the lawmakers by Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house.

He accused the PDP of “shutting its doors” against him and other loyalists of Ali Modu Sheriff, former chairman of the party.

He is the second PDP member in the house to defect to the APC this week.

Philip Shuaibu, deputy governor of Edo state, was present during the session.

His defection came just two days after Nnanna Igbokwe, another representative, left the PDP for the APC.

Igbokwe had cited “division” in the PDP as his reasons for leaving.

Agbonayinma is the seventh PDP lawmaker to leave the party in 2017.

In addition to Igbokwe, the others who left PDP are Zephaniah Jisalo, representing Abuja Municipal/Bwari constituency in FCT; Hassan Sale, Ado/Obadigbo/Okpokwu constituency in Benue; Edward Pwajok, Jos south/east constituency in Plateau; Adamu Kamale, Michika/Madagali constituency in Adamawa; and Yusuf Tijjani, Okene/Ogori-Magogo constituency in Kogi.

Most of them had left while the party was engulfed in a leadership crisis.