No fewer than 20 senators from the APC reportedly have intentions to defect to the opposition parties of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Labour Party (LP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and others.

Leaders of the ruling party are concerned that the PDP could win a majority in the higher legislative chambers as the APC continues to lose Lawmakers to the opposition party.

As a result, the APC senators, led by Senate President Ahmad Lawan, met with Adamu Abdullahi, the party’s national chairman, on Wednesday.

The APC currently has 67 senators while the five minority parties in the upper chamber have 43 senators with the PDP boasting 39 senators, while the YPP, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), LP, and the NNPP have four senators.

According to a lawmaker who spoke to The PUNCH, Adamu Abdullahi made an effort to convince disgruntled Lawmakers to stick with the party.

The source said, “The party chairman came to have a meeting with the APC senators because he said that they learned through intelligence that not lesser than 20 more senators were planning to defect to other parties within the next one week.

The chairman asked each of the aggrieved senators to lay bare their grievances which we all did one after the other. Having heard our problems, the chairman instructed that we put them into writing.”

According to the lawmaker, the APC chairman said it was a dangerous period for the party to lose its lawmakers close to the 2023 general election.

He stated that Adamu asked the senators to draft a letter of complaint to the party to  allow the APC caucus leaders deliberate on the issue raised with National Working Committee.

“Senator Adamu further stated the party would then see what it can do to help the situation. He, however, stated that lawmakers who do not feel comfortable with the help provided by the parties can then leave. But leaving without proper consultations with the party sends a wrong signal of discord. It presents the party as if in disarray and without proper leadership.”

“This is an election year and it’s not good to present the party as having leadership issues,” the source quoted Adamu to have said.