A member of the House of Representatives representing Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency of Benue State, Hon. Ojema Ojotu, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, announced the defection on Tuesday during plenary after reading Ojotu’s letter on the floor of the Green Chamber.

In his letter, Ojotu said he left the PDP due to the party’s “perennial internal crisis” and after extensive consultations with his constituents, family members, and political associates.

Following the announcement, the House Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Madaki of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), raised a Point of Order, urging the presiding officer to declare Ojotu’s seat vacant.

However, the House Majority Leader, Ibrahim Halims, countered the motion, relying on Order 7 of the House Rules. He argued that a lawmaker is permitted to defect when a political party is engulfed in unresolved crises that threaten their political future.

“When there is an unresolved crisis in a party and that party cannot resolve it, the person concerned can leave to protect his future,” Halims said.

In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker welcomed Ojotu to the APC and assured him of the ruling party’s support.

Ojotu, who chairs the House Committee on Inland Waterways, becomes the latest addition to the APC’s growing strength in the Green Chamber.

Before his defection, the APC held 10 of the 11 House of Representatives seats from Benue State. With Ojotu’s move, the ruling party now controls all the federal constituencies in the state.