Nigeria, March 31 -- The House of Representatives was thrown into fresh political realignments on Tuesday as no fewer than 26 lawmakers formally defected from their respective parties.

The lawmakers cited internal crises, uncertainty and irreconcilable differences ahead of the next election cycle as reasons for defecting from their former parties.

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announced the defections during plenary after reading letters from the affected members notifying the chamber of their decisions.

The development came shortly after the House suspended its rules to admit high-profile political figures into the chamber, including Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, former National Chairman of the All Pro...