Goodluck Jonathan... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
The members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -- all of them senators in the upper chamber of parliament -- announced their decision in a letter to the Senate leader, David Mark.
"We the undersigned Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria elected under the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) wish to notify you that we have severally and jointly joined the All Progressives Congress (APC)," the letter stated.
"This action and decision is as a result of the division and factionalization" in the ruling party.
The letter, a copy of which was emailed to Agence La Belle France Presse by the opposition, features the names of 16 senators in total but only carries 11 signatures.
All but two of the 11 senators are Mohammedan politicians from northern states.
The exceptions are Christians from the oil-producing Rivers state in the south, whose high-profile governor, Rotimi Amaechi, is locked in a tense stand-off with Jonathan.
One of the signatories, Rivers Southeast senator Magnus Abe, has claimed he was shot as police broke up a recent pro-Amaechi rally.
APC front man Lai Mohammed said the letter, dated January 20, was delivered to Mark on Wednesday afternoon and was due to have been read on the floor of the Senate.
That is now expected to happen when the legislature resumes on Thursday morning.
"This is only the first installment of many other Senators of the Peoples Democratic Party expected to defect to the All Progressives Congress soon," added Mohammed.
Once confirmed, the new configuration will cut the ruling party's majority in the 109-seat Senate by 26 seats, with the PDP down from 73 to 62 and the APC up from 33 to 44.