The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Debo Ologunagba, has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, insisting that the 2027 general elections will not be decided by political defections but by performance and governance.
Speaking during a segment on AIT’s Focus Nigeria, Ologunagba criticized the APC for celebrating defections as though they were indicators of policy success.
He emphasized that the Nigerian electorate would judge the ruling party based on its policies, economic management, and the overall impact of its administration on citizens’ lives.
“When you find the president of a country in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country like Nigeria declaring his preference for a one-party state, that shows that they continue to aggressively attack the processes of other political parties,” Ologunagba said.
“Some of those defections are not passed on conviction; it’s based on coercion because of the stated policy and the intention of the president to say he wants a one-party state. That’s an illusion that is not going to happen.”
The PDP spokesperson made the remarks amid a wave of defections from opposition parties to the APC, including that of former PDP vice-presidential candidate and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, along with all PDP members representing Delta State in the National Assembly. Several other lawmakers from the PDP and the Labour Party have also recently joined the ruling party.
“It’s curious and strange that this government celebrated defections as if it’s the success of policies, someone is defecting then you find the whole statecraft bringing forward,” Ologunagba continued.
“You are not doing a scorecard about your policies but how many people have defected.
“APC should be warned, 2027 is not going to be about defections – it’s going to be about your policies, your scorecards against the Nigerian people.”
