Former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Tony Nwoye, has been appointed as the new Minority Whip of the Senate.
Nwoye, who represents Anambra North Senatorial District, was unanimously selected for the role by the Minority Caucus, filling the vacancy created by the defection of his predecessor, Osita Mbu, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Mbu, in a letter read on the floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday, said his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was driven by a desire to align with the leadership of Peter Mbah and President Bola Tinubu within what he described as the country’s “only stable platform.”
Nwoye, who entered the Senate in 2023 under the Labour Party, LP, had earlier switched allegiance to the African Democratic Congress, ADC, late last year.
In a related development, Senator Anthony Siyako Yaro also announced his exit from the PDP for the APC, citing internal disagreements and persistent divisions within the opposition party.
Similarly, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Aliyu Wadada, formally declared his defection from the Social Democratic Party, SDP, to the APC. Although he had earlier joined the APC at his ward in 2025, Wadada told the Senate that formalities marking his defection were concluded on Wednesday.
Wadada, who is also the APC’s consensus governorship candidate for Nasarawa State ahead of the 2027 elections, confirmed his move during plenary.
Reacting to the wave of defections, Senator Adams Oshiomhole commended the lawmakers for carrying out their decisions without rancour.
He noted that the defections were consistent with constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of association.
“More people are joining our great party in a very peaceful manner.
“The point has been made that, so long as we are guided by the Nigerian Constitution, there is freedom of association,” he said.
“People who were fighting yesterday are leaving their party with pride to join the APC. This has been accomplished without a fight but with joy in their faces and hearts.
“Anybody who is progressive can, and many have, joined us. People chose to join the APC in admiration of the leadership of the Senate under Godswill Akpabio and the able leadership of Nigeria by President Bola Tinubu.”
