Tony Nwoye has been appointed as the new minority whip of the Senate following a wave of defections to the All Progressives Congress.
Nwoye, who represents Anambra North Senatorial District, was unanimously selected by the minority caucus to replace his predecessor after he joined the ruling party.
His appointment follows the defection of Senator Osita Ngwu from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC, a move he said was influenced by his alignment with Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and President Bola Tinubu.
Ngwu described the APC as the country’s most stable political platform in his resignation letter, which was read on the Senate floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Nwoye himself was elected to the Senate in 2023 on the Labour Party platform before moving to the African Democratic Congress in late 2025.
In separate developments, Senator Anthony Yaro of Gombe South defected from the PDP to the APC, citing internal crises within his former party, while Senator Aliyu Wadada also formally left the Social Democratic Party to join the ruling party.
Wadada, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, has also been endorsed as the APC consensus governorship candidate in Nasarawa State ahead of the 2027 elections.
Reacting to the defections, Senator Adams Oshiomhole welcomed the moves, saying they reflect growing confidence in the APC and its leadership under President Tinubu.
The latest realignments bring the APC’s strength in the Senate to 91 lawmakers.