Nigeria's Senate president quits ruling party in Buhari

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria's Senate chairman on Tuesday has become the senior politician to leave the ruling party, dealing with a new blow to President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of an election next year.

Bukola Saraki, the country's third most senior politician, defected to rejoin the People's Democratic Party (PDP), becoming the most high-profile figure to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Last week, 16 lawmakers in the upper house left the APC, as did APC faction said it no longer backed Buhari.

The loss of influential figures and divisions in the party peels support from Buhari within powerful patronage networks and among voters ahead of the election scheduled for February 2019.

"After extensive consultations I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress (APC), "Saraki said in a statement.

"Today, I start to go back to the party where I started my political journey, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)."

The PDP welcomed Saraki from the APC alongside Ahmed Abdulfatah, governor of Saraki's home state of Kwara in central Nigeria. The country's ambbadador to South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto, also defected to the PDP after resigning his post, the PDP said.

A spokesman for Buhari said the APC would comment later.

The PDP opposition said on Twitter Saraki had "dumped the failed and dysfunctional" APC. The PDP coalition in Buhari took office in 2015.

The APC Coalition united to unseat Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 Buhari loyalists and those who say they have been targeted by him.

Saraki's supporters said he had been targeted by the presidency. He has been dogged by accusations of misconduct and investigations of the law.

Saraki's defection was expected, said Antony Goldman of Nigeria-focused PM Consulting, saying that defections to the APC helped Buhari to defeat Jonathan.

"The challenge for the opposition will be to overcome factional differences and personal ambitions and find, at this late late stage, a credible candidate to challenge President Buhari next February," he said.

Nigeria's main opposition parties earlier in July agreed to form an alliance to field a joint candidate to contest the election.

Buhari said in April that he would like to see him again. Party primaries to choose presidential candidates run from Aug. 18 to Oct. 7.

Divisions in the APC in the aftermath of their advancement dashed. All but two of the 16 senators who left the APC last week joined the opposition PDP. As a result, the APC has lost its Senate majority.