Four members of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Their defection was announced by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen on the floor of the House.

The defectees are from constituencies in Kaduna, Imo, Edo and Cross River.

The lawmakers are Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency) and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency of Edo).

Also, the daughter of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the APC.

Speaking about the development, Matthew, who represents Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, said the decision to defect to the APC is based on conviction.

Asked if his imminent defection has the backing of his Constituency, Matthew who made history when he won the parliamentary election in 2023 as a commercial motorcycle rider said, “You cannot just work on the decision of the people at the constituency level because you are dealing with people with different levels of understanding.

“I am taking this decision based on conviction. That is why whether you like it or not, there are people within the constituency who are convinced that it (defection) is the right decision for them. There are those who are skeptical waiting for the outcome,” he said.