Akpabio declares three Senate Seats vacant

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday declared three senatorial seats vacant following the deaths of their occupants.

This sets the stage for by-elections that will test the political temperature in Enugu North, Nasarawa North, and Rivers South-East districts.

The announcement, made during plenary, came as the upper legislative chamber grapples with a broader political realignment that has seen a wave of defections reshape the opposition landscape and raised constitutional questions about the fate of other lawmakers who have switched parties.

“Due to the tragedies that have befallen the 10th Senate, vacancies have been created for midterm elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that we fill the vacancies created by the demise of our colleagues,” Akpabio told lawmakers.

Citing the 1999 Constitution as amended, the Senate President formally declared each seat vacant in turn: “I hereby declare vacant Enugu North Senatorial District. The seat is hereby declared vacant.” He then issued similar declarations for Nasarawa North and Rivers South-East.

Akpabio directed INEC to conduct fresh polls within the constitutional timeframe of approximately 30 days from the declaration.

The vacancy declarations come against a backdrop of intense political turbulence in the Senate, where a wave of defections has dramatically altered party standings. Earlier this month, nine senators announced their departure from minority parties to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in a single plenary session.

The defectors included prominent figures such as former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Senators Victor Umeh, Tony Nwoye, and Federal Capital Territory Senator Ireti Kingibe. Most cited internal divisions within their former parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party, as justification under Section 68(1)(b) of the Constitution, which permits defection when a party experiences division or merger.

But one defection has sparked a constitutional standoff. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who left the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the ADC, failed to cite any division within APGA, prompting Akpabio to question the legality of his move and threaten to declare his Abia South seat vacant.

When challenged, Abaribe told the chamber he had been expelled from APGA in September 2025, leaving him no political platform.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele countered that expulsion itself could trigger the constitutional provision requiring Abaribe to vacate his seat.

Akpabio gave Abaribe one week to either withdraw his defection or present more convincing legal justification. The outcome remains unresolved.

The defections have fundamentally altered the Senate’s composition. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) now commands a dominant majority of 87 senators, far exceeding the two-thirds threshold needed to control the chamber.

The ADC has emerged as the main opposition party with nine senators, while the PDP has been reduced to just seven senators. APGA, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) each hold one seat.