APC Gains More Power in Senate with 88 Members After By-Elections

The ruling All Progressives Congress has strengthened its hold in the Senate. The party now has 88 members after four new senators were inaugurated from recent by-elections.

Sunday PUNCH found out that even with recent defections due to dissatisfaction with the APC primaries, the party still holds the majority in the National Assembly.

In the June by-elections, the APC secured three additional senatorial seats in Ondo, Enugu, and Nasarawa states.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, swore in the four new lawmakers on June 24. They are Ikeje Asogwa from Enugu North, Dayo Faduyile from Ondo South, and Danladi Envulu-Anza from Nasarawa North. Olaka Nwogu from the Peoples Democratic Party, representing Rivers South-East, was also sworn in.

After bringing in these new lawmakers, the number of APC senators rose from 85 to 88. This has significantly reduced the numbers for the opposition parties.

This increase comes just a month after a wave of defections from the ruling party. Many aggrieved aspirants and lawmakers accused the APC leadership of imposing candidates and lacking fairness during the party’s primaries for the upcoming 2027 general elections.

One notable defector is former Inspector-General of Police, Abubakar Adamu. He left the APC after losing the governorship primary in Nasarawa State. Two sitting senators from Bauchi State and a House of Representatives member from Kano also switched to the Peoples Redemption Party and the National Democratic Congress.

The defectors include Senator Shehu Buba from Bauchi South, who lost the APC governorship ticket. Sama’ila Dahuwa from Bauchi North also left after failing to secure a second-term ticket.

They all claimed the APC leadership was unfair and undermined internal democracy during the primaries.

On June 23, more defections happened. Garba Maidoki, senator for Kebbi South, resigned from the APC and joined the African Democratic Congress after being stopped from the party’s senatorial primary.

Maidoki was elected to the Senate in 2023 as a member of the PDP. He switched to the APC in May 2025 after meeting with President Bola Tinubu. Now, he has left the APC after being screened out of the senatorial primary.

Despite these high-profile exits, the APC has continued to grow its numbers in the Senate. This is due to both defections into the party and wins in by-elections.

When the 10th Senate opened in June 2023, the APC had 59 seats. This has now increased to 88.

In contrast, the PDP’s numbers have dropped sharply from 36 senators at the start to just five now. The Labour Party, which began with eight senators, is down to one, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party has lost both its original seats.

The Social Democratic Party has no representation left after starting with two senators. The All Progressives Grand Alliance still has its one seat.

The ADC had no senator when the 10th Senate started but now has nine seats, while the Accord Party has one senator. The National Democratic Congress, a new party formed just five months ago, has kept its one senator, Seriake Dickson from Bayelsa West.

With the swearing-in of the four new senators, all 109 constitutionally required seats in the Senate are now filled. The Enugu North seat was vacant after the death of former senator Okey Ezea on November 18, 2025.

Asogwa won the by-election with 162,360 votes, beating PDP’s Nestor Ezeme, who got 9,299 votes.

In Rivers South-East, Nwogu won with 47,961 votes against APC’s Osar Erewari, who got 1,647 votes. This election replaced the late senator Barry Mpigi.

Faduyile took the Ondo South seat with 68,474 votes, defeating Adeolu Akinwunmi of the Allied People’s Movement, who received 1,411 votes. This seat was open after former senator Jimoh Ibrahim was appointed Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

In Nasarawa North, Envulu-Anza won with 45,362 votes, ahead of Labour Party’s Labaran Maku, who got 12,931 votes, and PDP’s Emmanuel David Ombugadu, who had 11,570 votes. The seat became vacant after the death of former senator Godiya Akwashiki due to a long illness.