Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senator, Ireti Kingibe, has declared her support for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), setting the stage for her political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“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.”
Addressing questions about her confidence in the leadership and future of ADC, Kingibe acknowledged the party’s ongoing development but expressed optimism about its prospects.
“It’s something that is evolving,” she stated. “You cannot say while your child is still crawling that you’re not happy with how he’s going to run. You wait. We are growing.”
On the potential constitutional implications of her defection, particularly the risk of losing her Senate seat, Kingibe pointed to the internal crisis within the Labour Party as a legitimate basis for her decision.
“There are two factions — clear factions — of Labour Party,” she argued. “The perfect definition that the constitution gives for someone to decamp without penalty applies in this case. Even INEC got two sets of results and candidates, though they didn’t accept any.”
She insisted that her defection was within the bounds of the law, emphasizing her respect for constitutional provisions.
“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 concluded.
Senator Kingibe’s defection is expected to shake up the political landscape of the FCT as the race towards the 2027 elections begins to gather momentum.