BY GORDI UDEAJAH
Senator for Abia South Hon Enyinnaya Abaribe , elected on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) in 2023 was not sacked from the party but voluntarily resigned in October, 2025, three months after he was suspended indefinitely from the party, party officials clarified yesterday
Senator Abaribe who told the Senate in session that he has defected to the African Democratic Congress ( ADC ) following his sack by his APGA, is seemingly seeking to return to the Senate in 2027 election for the sixth time.
He submitted that when a member of a political party that is an elected member of the Legislature, who desires to be reelected, is placed on an indefinite suspension, when other aspirants are seeking party nominations, it would amount to the suspended member being sacked by his party.
The APGA clarification that the senator voluntarily resigned , and not sacked, was made to journalists yesterday at Umuahia, Abia State capital by three state Officers of the party, namely , a chieftain Hon Obinna Ichita, who was former member of the Abia State House of Assembly for Aba South constituency, the state Chairman Chief Ambassador Sunday Onukwubiri , and the state Publicity Secretary Mr Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, a lawyer.
They said that following Abaribe’s voluntary resignation, he constitutionally ought to vacate his seat in the Senate because ” he cannot carry the mandate of another political party in the Senate, outside that of APGA on whose ticket he was elected by the people of Abia South Senatorial zone to represent them in the Senate from 2023 to 2027.
According to the APGA Leaders, the extant constitution of Nigeria provides that an elected lawmaker can only defect to another political party and retain his/her seat if the national leadership of the Party that sponsored his/ her election was in crisis or factionalized.
The APGA Leaders told the journalists that there was and still no extant national or state leadership crisis in the party to warrant Senator Abaribe’s resignation/ defection, asserting that the hitherto APGA National leadership crisis was settled by the Supreme Court judgement that was delivered before the 2023 election, from which Abaribe was elected.
The party consequently tasked and urged the Senate to abide strictly by the provisions of the relevant sections of the extant Nigerian Constitution with respect to senator Abaribe’s retention of the Abia South Senate seat.
They advised and urged the senator to vacate from the Senate and not allow himself the embarrassment of the National Assembly declaring his seat vacant.
The APGA Leaders said ” there was, and still no national or state leadership crisis in APGA. Senator Abaribe was suspended over the things he did that APGA considered as inappropriate.
” We suspended him from the party, and after three months , he submitted his resignation letter to his Ward, even as we had poised to lift his suspension if he had repented.
” We are therefore waiting in Abia South to see what the Senate will do, expecting that Senate shall apply the law”.
Party disclosed that APGA is going into a ” Strategic Alliance ” with another political party whose name will be made public once the necessary conversations are concluded” .
The alliance. according to the party, was informed by its drive to better and turnaround its fortunes for the benefit of the people.
