5 ranking PDP lawmakers who became Labour Party casualties

As the Labour Party continues to count its 'wins' in the just concluded general elections, the emergence of the party and its surprising showing have proven to be a dent on the luck of the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Results from the last legislative exercise showed that at least five principal officers of the PDP at the Senate and the House of Representatives have been usurped by candidates of Labour Party and as such will not be part of the 10th National Assembly.

What's even more interesting is that some of the lawmakers lost their re-election bids to newcomers in the February 25 elections.

Starting from the Senate, the biggest casualty perhaps is the Minority Leader of the Red Chamber, Philip Aduda.

The sole Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Aduda lost his fourth-term bid to the candidate of the Labour Party, Ireti Kingibe, who polled a total of 202,175 votes, to defeat the outgoing Senator who could only garner 100,544 votes.

Also, two senators from Anambra State, Uche Ekwunife and Stella Oduah, saw their stints in the national assembly ended by candidates of the Labour Party.

Ekwunife failed her re-election attempt as her longtime political nemesis, Senator Victor Umeh, ran away winner.

The battle between the duo for the Anambra Central Senatorial seat dated back to 2015 when Ekwunife had earlier won the election but her victory was annulled by the court because she had switched parties.

Umeh won the bye-election as Ekwunife failed to secure her then party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)'s support to re-contest, but the latter, running under the PDP, torpedoed the former in the 20219 election.

For Oduah, her third-term dream in the senate was cut short by Tony Nwoye, who emerged victorious in a contest that also had the immediate former First Lady of the state, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano running on the platform of APGA.

In the House of Representatives, Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, who has held down the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency seat since in 2007, failed at the fifth hurdle as Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party polled 53,879 votes to edge him into second place with 33,456 votes.

Still in the Green Chamber, the Minority Whip, Gideon Gwani, also lost his Kaura Federal Constituency seat of Kaduna State to Donatus Mathew of the Labour Party.

Gwani, who has been in the House of Representatives since 2003, could only muster 10,221 votes while Matthew, known for commercial motorcyclist business, polled 10,466 votes to clinch the close contest.