The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, once considered the most formidable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has suffered another major blow with the defection of its Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Hakeem Amode, along with several top party leaders to the APC.
This latest defection follows the earlier departure of Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, the party's 2023 governorship candidate, who recently returned to the APC, his former political home.
A Party in Decline
Political analysts now describe the situation as a total collapse of the PDP in Lagos State, the home state of President Bola Tinubu. What was once a strategic opposition platform with the potential to challenge APC's dominance has become leaderless, rudderless, and increasingly irrelevant in the state's political landscape.
The 2023 general elections highlighted the party's dwindling fortunes. The PDP failed to secure a single seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly, while the APC maintained dominance with 38 seats and the emerging Labour Party (LP) claimed 2 seats. Similarly, in the House of Representatives elections, the APC won 19 seats and LP took 5, while the PDP again came away empty-handed.
Historic Electoral Defeat
Perhaps the most telling sign of the PDP's collapse was evident in the March 2023 Lagos governorship election. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC secured 762,134 votes, while Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party received 312,329 votes. The PDP's candidate, Jandor, finished a distant third with just 62,449 votes.
For the first time in two decades, the PDP not only lost but failed to secure the second position, trailing the Labour Party by nearly 250,000 votes. This stands in stark contrast to the 2019 election where PDP's candidate Jimi Agbaje polled 206,141 votes behind Sanwo-Olu.
Leadership Vacuum and Rising Competition
The departure of Jandor, who cited internal sabotage and lack of commitment from PDP leadership during the election as reasons for his return to APC, signaled to many party faithful that there was little future left in the PDP, at least not in Lagos.
While the PDP has struggled with internal divisions and court-imposed challenges, the Labour Party has emerged as a new force in Lagos politics. Energized by youths, tech-savvy professionals, and first-time voters through the 'Obidient Movement' that supported Peter Obi's presidential campaign, LP has stepped into the opposition space that the PDP has increasingly vacated.
PDP's Response to Defections
Despite the wave of defections, the Lagos State chapter of the PDP has dismissed claims that its structure has collapsed. In a statement signed by the State Secretary, Soji Orioye, the party maintained that it remains solid and intact despite the recent exits.
"The claim by Amode that they have collapsed the PDP structure in the state is laughable and can best be described as a comic remark," the statement read.
Opposition Concerns
Meanwhile, a PDP member from Gbagada, Segun Yinka, blamed the ruling APC for what he described as the systematic collapse of opposition politics in Lagos and beyond.
"The APC, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has done everything possible to frustrate the opposition out of relevance. They've captured not just political structures, but institutions, the democratic space, and even the people's confidence," Yinka stated.
He further claimed, "They are gradually turning Nigeria into a one-party state. If not, how do you explain a sitting governor from another political party campaigning for him while the citizens suffer?"
With the next general election cycle approaching, the PDP's prospects in Lagos appear increasingly challenging. The party currently lacks a clear leadership structure, policy direction, and has lost most of its experienced political strategists to the APC.
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