From FRED ITUA, Abuja

A Senator, elected on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from Akwa Ibom State, Nelson Effiong, has defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The lawmaker made the announcement of his defection on the floor of the Senate, on Thursday. He said the intractable crisis in the PDP necessitated his defection to APC.

He said no politician worth his onions should remain in the PDP, adding that APC as a party has brought stability to Nigeria. He said APC has also restored peace to some troubled parts of the country.

“I have decided that no reasonable politician who is worth his onions would remain in PDP and allow his people to be drifting about without a direction. So I have decided today (yesterday), the 19th day of January, 2017, to resign from the PDP and move to the party that is bringing peace and direction to this country, the APC,” the lawmaker announced.

Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, who stood in for Godswill Akpabio, frowned at the defection and warned the Senator of the consequences.

Bwacha noted: “I hope that my colleague is aware of the implications of what he has just done. The PDP as a party is one and is intact. I fear for his seat and the consequences that may follow as a result of this action. I want to say that what he has said appears to be an insult to those of us who are in the PDP that ‘a politician that is worth his onions will not remain in PDP’.

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“That is an insult. If you want to do the usual business in the Nigerian politics of following the weather, he should say it clearly. This business of moving here and there following the weather should be stated clearly and let him not deviate from the original intentions he has. We are going to meet in court.”

Akpabio, who walked into the chamber about five minutes after the defection, announced that the PDP in Akwa Ibom State will challenge the defection in court and reclaim the mandate.

He said as an individual, Senator Effiong has the right to jump ship, but not to the detriment of the party, whose platform he rode on to get to the Senate.

Akpabio thundered: “I understand maybe due to political intoxication or otherwise, the Senator has jumped ship and moved from this side to the other side. I need to let the Senate and the president know that in terms of the court decisions up to the Supreme Court, that it is not an individual that contests an election.

“It is a political party and therefore the moment somebody takes the mandate of a political party, it behooves on that political party to immediately take steps. We heard that this action is going to take place and we engaged the Senator in various discussions and we showed him the implication.

“I want it to be noted in this Senate that the PDP in Akwa Ibom State is already on its way to court and we would want to reclaim its mandate. We must reclaim the mandate given to us and we do not mind the Senator joining the APC, but he will not go with the mandate given to us in Akwa Ibom State. The reason why I am standing is that today, it is the PDP, tomorrow it might be APC.”