Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has strengthened its hold on the National Assembly, positioning itself to drive constitutional amendments with minimal reliance on opposition support.
The party now controls 84 of 109 Senate seats and about 231 of 360 seats in the House of Representatives, surpassing the two-thirds majority threshold required for major legislative decisions.
The consolidation comes after several defections from opposition parties, notably the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The most recent senators to join the APC include Amos Yunana (Adamawa North), Aminu Iya-Abbas (Adamawa Central), and Ikra Aliyu Bilbis (Zamfara Central), adding to the 81 senators previously under APC control.
These shifts reduce the PDP’s Senate representation to just 14 members and shrink opposition influence in the upper chamber.
In the House of Representatives, sustained cross-carpeting by lawmakers from the PDP, Labour Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party has boosted APC numbers from 162 at the 2023 inauguration to 231, while the PDP now holds 83 seats and the Labour Party 22.
Minor parties, including the NNPP, APGA, SDP, ADC, and YPP, occupy the remaining seats, giving the APC a dominant legislative position.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the defections as unprecedented since Nigeria’s independence, noting the contrast with 2018 when APC lost lawmakers to the PDP in large numbers.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele attributed the wave of defection to growing confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s economic and governance reforms.
With its overwhelming majority, the APC is now in a position to pass executive-sponsored legislation, fiscal measures, and constitutional amendments without significant opposition input.
Analysts, however, warned that the marginalisation of opposition voices could weaken parliamentary scrutiny and democratic debate ahead of the 2027 elections.
