Agom-Jarigbe\u2019s letter of defection was read by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker explained in the letter that his exit from PDP followed months of internal crises and irreconcilable divisions that had crippled the party at the national and state levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cI rise to formally notify you and the distinguished leadership of the Senate of my resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party, on whose platform I was elected to represent the good people of Cross River North Senatorial District.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision came after deep and thoughtful reflection on the current state of my former party.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with regret that I note the persistent and deep-seated divisions and the deliberate factionalisation at both the national and state levels as the primary reasons for my departure,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Jarigbe said that he decided to align with the ruling party to continue delivering effective representation to his constituents.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the light of the foregoing, and in the best interest of my constituents, I have chosen to join the All Progressives Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu and the steady guidance of the National Assembly, the APC provides a stable and progressive platform to deliver the democratic dividends expected by the people of Cross River North,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Following the announcement, Barau welcomed Agom-Jarigbe into APC, saying, \u201cYou are most welcome. Please welcome him,\u201d as senators across party lines applauded.<\/p>\n
The senator\u2019s defection has further strengthened APC\u2019s grip on Cross River, where all three senatorial seats are now occupied by members of the ruling party.<\/p>\n
The other two senators from the state are Eteng Williams (Cross River Central) and Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South).<\/p>\n
PDP\u2019s internal conflict deepened after a Federal High Court in Abuja halted its planned national convention, initially scheduled for Nov. 15 and 16 in Ibadan.<\/p>\n
Another Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, on Tuesday, also restrained the PDP from holding the convention.<\/p>\n
It also barred INEC from supervising, monitoring, or recognising the outcome of the convention; the party went ahead in defiance of the court order.<\/p>\n
Agom-Jarigbe\u2019s defection, the configuration of the senate across political parties shows APC having 76 seats, PDP 25, Labour Party four, APGA two, SDP one, and NNPP one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Agom-Jarigbe\u2019s letter of defection was read by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary. The lawmaker explained in the letter that his exit from PDP followed months of internal crises and irreconcilable divisions that had crippled the party at the national and state levels. \u201cI rise to formally notify you and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[69,136,137],"class_list":["post-923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-assembly","tag-apc","tag-decamp","tag-pdp"],"yoast_head":"\n