The African Democratic Congress suffered a major blow on Tuesday after 18 members of the House of Representatives announced their exit from the party on the floor of the chamber.
No fewer than 17 lawmakers defected from the ADC to the Nigerian Democratic Congress, marking one of the largest single-day defections in the 10th Assembly.
Their names were read during plenary by the presiding officer, confirming the switch to the NDC amid rising political realignments. 
The lawmakers who crossed to the NDC are Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande, and Munachim Umezuruike.
Also joining the NDC are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi, and Abdulhakeem Ado.
In a separate move, Rep. Leke Abejide left the ADC for the ruling All Progressives Congress, further thinning the ADC’s numbers in the Green Chamber.
The wave of defections comes just two days after former Anambra Governor Peter Obi and former Kano Governor Musa Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC. Both men picked up their membership cards on Sunday after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, and Kwankwaso, who flew the NNPP flag in 2023, were received by NDC national leader and former Bayelsa Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson. The pair were cheered by supporters as they completed their registration.
Explaining his exit from the ADC, Obi pointed to internal crises, legal battles, and what he called growing hostility within party structures. He said he joined the ADC from Labour Party in December 2025 but found the same pattern of division and infiltration that pushed him out of LP.
He stressed that his decision was not due to personal issues with ADC leaders like David Mark or Atiku Abubakar, whom he said he continues to respect. Instead, he blamed “endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division” for his departure.
Welcoming the new members, Dickson described the NDC as litigation-free and faction-free, calling it Nigeria’s most stable and fastest-growing political party. He said that despite being young, the NDC was ready to “box above its weight” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
