Ruling PDP Loses House Majority
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has lost his majority in the House of Representatives after 37 lawmakers defected to a new opposition party.
The Reps said in a letter to the speaker of the 360-seat lower chamber that they had joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) party. This is the first time a president has lost his majority in the chamber since military rule ended in 1999.
Nigeria is due to hold presidential elections in 2015.
The defection was announced during a plenary session of the House on Wednesday. Though the names of the decampees were not mentioned, they are believed to be lawmakers from the five states whose governors recently left the PDP to join the APC.
Sources within the PDP noted that more will be joining the APC soon in what will give them the majority
The defection is the latest blow to Mr Jonathan and his governing People's Democratic Party (PDP), and will make it extremely difficult for them to implement their legislative programme, observers say.
Speaking to elombah.com, a Nigerian lawyer said: “The defection of 37 members from the PDP to APC in the House of House of Representatives has turned the APC into the Party with the highest number of seats in the House of Representatives. The APC now has 174 members in the House of Representatives, while the PDP and other smaller political parties such as the Labour Party, Accord and APGA account for the balance of 166.
“The positions of the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, Majority Leader, Mulikat Akande, Chief Whip, Ishaka Bawa and Deputy Leader, Leo Ogor hang in the balance with the attainment of the APC as the majority Party in the House of Representatives.
“Another implication of the APC becoming the majority Party is that President Jonathan may find it extreme difficult to push through the passage of bills sponsored by his Government in the House of Representatives. All ready the passage of the 2014 Appropriation Bill has been stalled in the House of Representatives over disagreement crude oil bench mark.”
The PDP, which still controls the upper chamber, the Senate, has won every national election since the end of military rule.
Last week, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo told Mr Jonathan it would be “morally flawed” for him to seek re-election because of his failure to tackle Nigeria's myriad problems – including corruption, piracy, kidnapping and oil theft.
This came several weeks after a powerful faction of state governors broke away to join the APC. The PDP now has fewer governors supporting it than the opposition.
The APC was formed in February following the merger of four opposition parties to challenge the PDP in the 2015 election.
Mr Jonathan moved from the vice-presidency to the presidency in 2010 after his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua, died in office. He won presidential elections the following year.