The Labour Party has been one of the opposition parties in Nigeria that has been working to break the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra, joined the Labour Party in May 2022, after he withdrew as a presidential aspirant and dumped the PDP, the Labour Party has made a sudden return to like, gathering support across the country, particularly from the youths.
Source: Twitter
Obi’s move to the Pabour Party boosted the chances of many individuals who contested under the party during the 2023 general election.
Labour Party chieftains join APC, PDP
However, in recent times, an analysis has revealed that many chieftains of the Labour Party and staunched member have defected to the APC or PDP while others only announced their resignation.
The latest of the defection is that of the former Anambra governorship candidate Valentine Ozigbo, who joined the party after dumping the PDP ahead of the 2023 election.
Ozigbo in a Facebook post wrote:
“A few moments ago, at a state executive committee meeting of the Labour Party in Awka, in Anambra State, I formally submitted my resignation letter to my ward’s Chairman.”
Who is Ozigbo?
Recall that Ozigbo contested the 2021 governorship election in Anambra on the platform of the PDP. However, he dumped the party for the Labour Party in August 2022 to support Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election.
Aside from Ozigbo, no less than 17 influential politicians have dumped the Labour Party for either the PDP or the APC after the 2023 general election.
This came as the party was drawn into a leadership crisis and the political giants needed to forge ahead to pursue their future ambitions.
Below is the full list of the politicians:
| S/N | Name | States |
| 1 | Valentine Ozigbo | Anambra |
| 2 | Hon. Esosa Iyawe | Edo |
| 3 | Hon. Dalyop Chollom | Plateau |
| 4 | Alfred Iliya | Plateau |
| 5 | Tochukwu Chinedu Okere | Imo |
| 6 | Donatus Matthew | Kaduna |
| 7 | Bassey Akiba | Cross River |
| 8 | Udengs Eradiri | Bayelsa |
| 9 | Ezenwa Onyewuchi | Imo |
| 10 | David Ameh | Kaduna |
| 11 | Comrade Isaac Balami | Borno |
| 12 | Kenneth Okonkwo | Enugu |
| 13 | Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu | Delta |
| 14 | Doyin Okupe | Ogun |
| 15 | Paschal Obi | Imo |
| 16 | Lasun Yusuf | Osun |
| 17 | Olukayode Salako | Lagos |
