The Peoples Democratic Party structures in Ogun State may be heading for a major crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections, following the defection of several chieftains and their supporters to the All Progressives Congress and endorsement of Senator Solomon Adeola for governor.
The development was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by Chief Kayode Odunaro, Media Adviser to Senator Adeola, who said the defections followed the emergence of Adeola as the APC consensus governorship candidate and were driven by his alleged infrastructural achievements and empowerment programmes across the state.
According to the statement, PDP leaders from the three senatorial districts have held several meetings with Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, pledging their support for his governorship ambition and expressing readiness to join the APC.
Odunaro listed several former PDP leaders, candidates and party officials from Ogun West, Ogun Central and Ogun East among those who had allegedly moved to the APC.
The statement claimed that prominent PDP figures from Imeko-Afon, Yewa North, Yewa South, Ado-Odo/Ota and Ipokia Local Government Areas had already pitched their tents with Adeola.
It also listed PDP chieftains from Abeokuta North, Ewekoro and Ifo in Ogun Central, as well as political figures from Sagamu, Odogbolu, Ijebu North-East, Ikenne and Ijebu-Ode in Ogun East, as part of the growing list of defectors.
The statement attributed the defections to Adeola’s alleged achievements in infrastructure and empowerment, as well as what it described as the uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the PDP in the state amid ongoing legal disputes between factions.
It further claimed that the movement had continued for more than a month, with several PDP leaders allegedly meeting with Adeola to discuss their integration into the APC.
Adeola, according to the statement, assured the defectors that they would be fully integrated into the APC structures at the ward and other levels of the party.
“Be rest assured that you are fully accepted into our party as full members with equal rights of membership. My philosophy of party affairs and governance is that of inclusion and sense of belonging for all,” Adeola was quoted as saying.
He added, “I will never take your sacrifices and support for granted as we work toward a better Ogun State of our dream.”
The statement also claimed that former Ogun PDP chairman, Sikirulai Ogundele, and former governorship candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, had earlier abandoned the party for the APC alongside their supporters.
Odunaro said arrangements were being made for the formal declaration of the new APC members at a date to be announced before the commencement of the 2027 political campaigns.
