Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has announced her departure from the Labour Party (LP) to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Kingibe said her decision was intentional and would soon be made official through a public event.
“I’m totally and completely committed to ADC,” she said.
“But obviously, as the senator representing the federal capital territory, don’t expect me to just take a lunch break and go and collect card. I want to do so with noise and fanfare.”
Asked whether she was satisfied with ADC’s leadership and the evolving coalition she’s now part of, Kingibe likened the party’s progress to a growing child.
“It’s something that is evolving. So you cannot say while your child is still crawling that you are not happy with how he’s going to run. You wait. We are growing,” she said.
On whether her defection could potentially affect her seat in the Senate under constitutional provisions, Kingibe argued that Labour Party’s current state of division justifies her move.
“I ask you to please read the constitution. There are two factions clear of Labour Party. The perfect definition that the constitution gives for somebody to decamp without penalty,” she said.
“So you say I should stay in Labour Party. Which faction of Labour Party do you want me to stay in?
“There are two clear distinct ones. Even INEC got two sets of results and candidates, though they didn’t accept any. There’s no question of that.
“Even the time when we didn’t have two clear factions, did you see anybody implementing it?
“But I do follow the law. And if there were not two distinct factions of Labour Party, I would not presume to decamp, because that is unconstitutional. But they are.
“And this is the definition that the constitution gave why it would be okay to decamp to anywhere I wanted to go to. I just chose ADC.”
Kingibe was among several high-profile political figures seen at the unveiling of the ADC as the platform for a new opposition coalition in Abuja on July 2.
