By Sade Adewale

Fresh trouble has hit the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, as one of its members in the House of Representatives, Festus Olanrewaju Akingbaso, dumped the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Akingbaso, who represents Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency of Ondo State in the Green Chamber, announced his defection on the floor of the House during plenary on Tuesday.

The development came as the PDP’s National Executive Committee, NEC, convened in Abuja to deliberate on the raging internal crises threatening the unity and cohesion of the main opposition party.

The Speaker of the House, Dr. Abbas Tajudeen, read Akingbaso’s letter of defection to members, formally confirming his move to the APC.

In the letter, the lawmaker attributed his defection to the unending internal wranglings within the PDP, which he said had undermined the party’s ability to function as a credible platform for national opposition.

Reacting to the defection, the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, rose on a point of order, calling on the House leadership to ensure strict adherence to constitutional guidelines governing the movement of elected lawmakers from one political party to another.

He urged the House to scrutinise such defections to avoid breaching constitutional provisions.

The latest defection is seen as a major blow to the PDP, which is still grappling with deep-seated disagreements among its key stakeholders.