Two aspirants for the Oyo State House of Assembly seat representing Ibadan North-East State Constituency II have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside hundreds of their supporters.
The defectors are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Hammed Taoreed Ademola, popularly known as Lucky, and former Accord aspirant, Adedapo Olamiposi Ojo.
Their formal declaration for the APC took place on Friday at a private facility along Old Ife Road in Ibadan.
Ademola said his decision to leave the PDP was based on his assessment of the political situation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“I did my due diligence and I came to realise any ticket outside the APC is a mere tissue paper which cannot take a candidate anywhere in 2027,” he said.
“We are here in our hundreds to join the APC formally and we promise to do our best in the interest of the progressive party and our dear country, Nigeria.”
Ademola’s defection comes after he had been listed among the PDP’s candidates for the 2027 Oyo State House of Assembly election.
Ojo, who previously contested the Accord primary for the same constituency, also announced his decision to join the APC.
He described his former party as a distraction and urged voters to support the APC.
“We thought about making Accord a credible alternative in the state but we later realised that the APC was ahead of other parties by far,” Ojo said.
“We wasted our time, energy and resources on an unproductive exercise. We later realised it wasn’t worth it. So we decided to pitch our tent with the progressive party and here we are today.”
Ojo had earlier resigned his membership of Accord in July, citing what he described as a lack of internal democracy and cohesion within the party.
He had also alleged that the party’s primary process resulted in parallel aspirants emerging for the same constituency.
Receiving the defectors into the APC, the party’s state chairman, Moses Alake-Adeyemo, assured them of equal opportunities within the party.
Adeyemo urged the new members to work for the success of all APC candidates in the 2027 elections, describing the poll as an opportunity to reshape the political direction of the country.
Also speaking at the event, APC governorship candidate Senator Sharafadeen Alli pledged an inclusive administration if elected governor of Oyo State in 2027.
Alli promised to ensure fairness to members of the party and residents across the state’s five geopolitical zones.
“It is a thing of joy that reasonable individuals are abandoning their party to join the APC at a time like this,” Alli said.
He said his administration would prioritise regular payment of salaries and allowances, improved working conditions and training and retraining for workers, including civil servants and teachers.
Alli also outlined plans to establish a standard information and communication technology (ICT) hub in Ibadan within his first six months in office, with similar facilities to be established in Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso, Oyo and Ibarapa before January 2029.
He further promised equitable distribution of infrastructure and basic amenities across the state, adding that each of Oyo’s 33 local government areas would have a well-staffed and fully equipped general hospital to address residents’ basic healthcare needs.
The APC governorship candidate was joined at the event by his running mate, Adesoji Adedeji; Oyo South senatorial candidate, Aderemi Oseni; and other party leaders and members.
