The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Debo Ologunagba, has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that the 2027 general election will not be determined by political defections but by the administration's performance and policies.

Speaking during an appearance on AIT Focus Nigeria, Ologunagba criticized the Tinubu administration for celebrating defections as policy achievements rather than focusing on governance.

"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.

The PDP spokesman suggested that many recent defections were not based on conviction but rather on coercion, pointing to what he described as the president's stated intention to establish a one-party state.

Recent Wave of Defections

Nigeria's political landscape has recently witnessed significant defections from opposition parties to the ruling APC. Notable among these is former PDP vice-presidential candidate and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who recently joined the APC.

Following Okowa's move, all Delta State National Assembly members from the PDP also defected to the APC, alongside several lawmakers from both the PDP and Labour Party (LP).

Ologunagba expressed concern about the government's focus on these defections, stating: "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."

He added, "You are not doing a scorecard about your policies but how many people have defected."

Looking Ahead to 2027

In his concluding remarks, the PDP spokesman delivered a clear message to the ruling party: "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."

The statement comes at a time of increasing political realignment in Nigeria, with the APC appearing to strengthen its position through high-profile defections while opposition parties regroup ahead of the next general election cycle.