The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), once regarded as the most formidable opposition party in Lagos State, has now become a political shadow of itself following a wave of high-profile defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The most recent blow came with the defection of Lagos PDP Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Hakeem Amode, along with several top party leaders, to the APC. Their decision follows in the footsteps of Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (Jandor), the party's 2023 governorship candidate, who had earlier abandoned the PDP for the APC, his former political home.
A Party in Decline
With a long history of challenging the ruling Alliance for Democracy, Action Congress of Nigeria, and now the APC, the party once described as the largest in Africa has been reduced to a negligible force in Lagos State, the home state of President Bola Tinubu.
Political analysts now describe these defections as more than routine political movements—they represent the total collapse of the PDP in Lagos State. What was once a strategic opposition platform with the potential to unsettle APC's grip has become leaderless, rudderless, and almost entirely irrelevant.
Electoral Failures
The 2023 general elections highlighted the PDP's dwindling fortunes. The party failed to win a single seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly, while the APC retained dominance with 38 seats and the rising Labour Party (LP) clinched 2 seats. The trend continued in the House of Representatives, where the APC secured 19 seats, LP took 5, and PDP again walked away empty-handed.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the PDP's collapse was seen in the March 2023 Lagos governorship election. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (APC) polled 762,134 votes, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of Labour Party got 312,329 votes, while Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor, PDP) came far behind with just 62,449 votes.
For the first time in two decades, the PDP did not even place second. Instead, it came a distant third, trailing the Labour Party by a massive margin of nearly 250,000 votes, unlike in 2019 where PDP's candidate Jimi Agbaje polled 206,141 behind Sanwo-Olu.
Leadership Vacuum
The writing was on the wall when Jandor, PDP's much-publicized 2023 gubernatorial candidate, returned to the APC. Jandor, who once left the APC in protest, cited internal sabotage and a lack of commitment from PDP leadership during the election as reasons for his return.
His exit signaled to many party faithful that there was no future left in PDP, at least not in Lagos. The vacuum left behind was quickly filled by silence, confusion, and infighting.
Labour Party Fills the Void
While PDP struggled with internal divisions and court-imposed paralysis, a new force emerged. The Labour Party, previously a non-factor in Lagos politics, surged forward on the back of Peter Obi's presidential campaign and the viral 'Obidient Movement.' Energized by youths, tech-savvy professionals, and first-time voters, LP stepped into the space PDP had vacated.
With the next general election cycle approaching, the PDP's prospects in Lagos look increasingly grim. The party has no clear leadership structure, no policy direction, and has lost most of its experienced political tacticians to the APC.
PDP Denies Collapse
However, 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 the PDP in Lagos 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 Voices
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 said.
"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? Opposition voices are being suppressed. Tinubu knows his popularity in Lagos is dwindling. If truly free and fair elections are held, he'll lose Lagos again. It's a shame," he added.
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