Senator Ireti Kingibe Joins ADC, Cites Factional Crisis in Labour Party

Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has announced her formal resignation from the Labour Party (LP) and declared her defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Kingibe who won the FCT senatorial seat on the platform of the Labour Party in 2023, described her decision to join the ADC as a deliberate and strategic political move.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, she revealed that her formal induction into the ADC would be marked by celebration.

“I’m totally and completely committed to ADC,” she said. “But obviously, as the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, don’t expect me to just take a lunch break and go collect a card. I want to do so with noise and fanfare.”

Kingibe expressed confidence in the leadership of her new party, acknowledging that the ADC is still in its developmental phase.

“It’s something that is evolving,” she explained. “So you cannot say while your child is still crawling that you are not happy with how he’s going to run. You wait. We are growing.”

Responding to concerns about losing her Senate seat due to her defection, she maintained that the presence of two clear factions within the Labour Party validated her decision under constitutional rules.

“I ask you to please read the constitution. There are two factions — clear factions — of Labour Party,” she stated. “The perfect definition that the constitution gives for somebody to decamp without penalty applies in this case.”

She cited that even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had received two sets of results and candidates from the LP during elections, further validating her claim.

“Even INEC got two sets of results and candidates, though they didn’t accept any. So if you ask me to stay in Labour Party, which faction do you want me to stay in?”

Senator Kingibe maintained that her defection was both lawful and grounded in her respect for constitutional values.

“If there were not two distinct factions of Labour Party, I would not presume to decamp, because that is unconstitutional. But they are. And this is the definition the constitution gave why it would be okay to decamp to anywhere I wanted to go. I just chose ADC,” she added.