The senator representing Edo South senatorial district, Neda Imasuen, has defected from the Labour Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Senate President Godswill Akpabi announced Mr Imasuen’s defection while reading senator’s letter during plenary in Abuja.

The letter was titled ‘Notice of defection from the LP to the APC’.

“I write to respectfully notify the distinguished senate through the office of the Senate president of my resignation from the LP and my decision to officially join the APC.

“This decision followed extensive consultations with my constituents, my political stakeholders and my supporters across Edo South District.

“They had expressed their desire to have me enter a party that will give our people national prominence and political relevance. I want to align my senatorial district with the development and the renewed hope agenda of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration,’’ Mr Imasuen said in the letter.

According to Mr Imasuen, his defection was necessitated by irreconcilable internal crises and leadership challenges within the Labour Party.

He added that this had hindered his ability to effectively represent and deliver on the true mandate of governance to the people of his constituents.

“This is very important for the benefit of this country and the peace of this nation. This has accounted for the many complaints and tears that the senator had been heaping up,” Mr Akpabio said.

Mr Imasuen chairs the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions. 

Mr Imasuen, who has been representing Edo South since 2023, was the mastermind of a sprawling bank heist in the United States before fleeing to Nigeria to pursue a successful career in politics, according to U.S. court filings. 

Mr Imasuen, chair of the ethics committee that recommended the suspension of Natasha Akpoti, was stripped of his bar licence in New York, U.S., over allegations of multimillion-dollar fraud and gross misconduct.

(NAN)