TheCable

Two members of the house of representatives, who came to the lower chamber on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have defected from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The members, Tony Nwoye, from Anambra east and west constituency, and Emmanuel Udende, from Benue state, conveyed their decision to leave the party in a letter to Yakubu Dogara, the speaker.

In the letter, which was read by the speaker on the floor of the house on Wednesday, Nwoye and Udende cited the division of the PDP into three factions as their reason for leaving the party.

However, Leo Ogor,  minority leader, raised a point of order to protest the position of the members that the PDP was divided.

He said no recognised institution such as the courts had ruled that the party had split into factions.

But Dogara said that there was no need to debate the matter as the issue of the PDP would be handled at the national level.

The PDP had been factionalised owing to a tussle over the leadership of the party. One faction is led by Ali Modu Sheriff, former national chairman of the party, and another by Ahmed Makarfi, acting national chairman of the party, and the third faction by Jerry Gana.

With the departure of the two members from the PDP, the APC now has more numbers in the house where it is already in control.