More than 600 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State have reportedly defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in another significant realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
The defectors, led by a former PDP chairman in Abeokuta South, Alhaji Moruf Akanbi Olajide, were received into the APC on Monday by Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu and Hon. Afolabi Afuape, alongside other party leaders and stakeholders.
Olajide, who led the defection, criticised the state of affairs within the PDP, saying the party had, in his assessment, lost the political direction required to pursue its stated objectives.
He reportedly described the PDP as having become “a content-creator group of people”, arguing that he could no longer remain in a political organisation where its vision and mission were not sufficiently visible for implementation.
According to Olajide, the more than 600 defectors represent the first batch of PDP members expected to leave the party from the 15 wards in Abeokuta South Local Government, with another group expected to join the APC subsequently.
Former PDP Officials Join Defection:
Among those reported to have joined the APC were former PDP state ex-officio member Mrs. Ayoka Adams; former Abeokuta South LGA Secretary Hon. Gbenga Adewale; former Ward 3 Chairperson Mrs. Bola Lawal; former Ward 4 Chairman Alhaji Sikirulai Ola Akinbo; former Ward 4 Chairperson Alhaja Idayat Adeboye; and former ward chairman and member of the Abeokuta South 23 Wisemen, Alhaji Wale Olaosebikan.
Others included former Ward 8 Chairman Mr. Safaru Sobodun; former Ward 9 Chairman Chief Akeem Yinus; former PDP LGA Assistant Secretary and Legal Adviser Mr. Wasiu Bakare; former Ward 10 councillorship candidate Hon. Sodiq Akinwande; former Ward 13 leader Elder Soyode; and Mrs. Ganiyat Olasibi, identified as a leader of women in politics in Abeokuta South.
Former PDP ward executive members and their respective ward structures were also listed among those who joined the APC.
The defectors pledged their support for the APC and its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Hon. Afolabi Afuape and other APC candidates.
APC Receives Defectors:
Receiving the new members, Senator Salisu and Hon. Afuape welcomed them into the APC and commended Olajide for what they described as effective grassroots mobilisation.
The APC leaders assured the defectors that the party would continue to represent their interests and promote inclusive governance, while urging them to remain united, coordinated and focused ahead of the elections.
Other APC figures present at the reception included Hon. Lukman Olajide Atobatele, representing Abeokuta South Constituency I in the Ogun State House of Assembly; Hon. Ademuyiwa Adeyemi, representing Abeokuta South Constituency II; Odeda Local Government Chairman, Mrs. Folashade Adeyemo; APC Chairman in Abeokuta North, Alhaja Faidat Sarumi; and Engr. Babatunde Adesina, Director-General of the Shuaib Afolabi Salisu Campaign Organisation.
Another Realignment in Ogun Politics:
The development adds to a series of political defections and realignments that have characterised Ogun State’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
In March, six PDP lawmakers in the Ogun State House of Assembly defected to the APC, following earlier defections by two other PDP lawmakers, effectively leaving the Assembly without elected PDP members.
Contemporary reports attributed the move partly to the opposition party’s prolonged internal leadership crisis.
The movement has not, however, been exclusively in one direction. In June, former APC chieftain Chief Mustapha Abdulhakeem Owolabi and supporters moved to the PDP, while the PDP also received a group it said comprised more than 4,500 defectors from the APC, ADC and other political groups in July.
Pull Quote:
“I cannot continue to be in a party where vision and mission are not visible to be actualised.” — Moruf Akanbi Olajide
The latest Abeokuta South development therefore forms part of a wider pattern of political movement across Ogun as parties strengthen their grassroots structures ahead of the 2027 polls.
With INEC’s current timetable placing the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027 and the governorship and State House of Assembly elections on February 6, 2027, the latest defections highlight the increasing importance parties are attaching to grassroots mobilisation and ward-level structures.
The reported defection is expected to further intensify political competition in Abeokuta South, particularly as the major parties continue efforts to consolidate their structures and attract influential grassroots actors ahead of the 2027 electoral contests, Premier World News reports
