Mass Defection Rocks PDP In Ondo.

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Scores of members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State have crossed over to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring their backing for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.

The defectors, described as grassroots organisers from the 18 local government areas of the state, said they could no longer remain in the “crisis-ridden” PDP, which they said had a weakened leadership structure.

The PDP members, who are also part of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), said their move to the APC was influenced by President Tinubu’s economic reforms and the ongoing infrastructure projects across the state.

Speaking for the defectors under the Asiwaju Transport Movement on Tuesday, Mr Ojo Adewole praised President Tinubu for what he referred to as the restoration of the country’s “lost glory” through the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Adewole highlighted several federal road works – including the dualisation of the Benin–Ilesa Expressway, the expansion of the Ore–Ondo–Akure road, the Akure–Ado–Ekiti Expressway, and the ongoing coastal highway – as key reasons for their defection.

“We were encouraged to join the APC by our Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. We thank him for the opportunity given to us, and we will not disappoint him nor the party,” he said.

He added that the continuation of road projects started under the late President Muhammadu Buhari assured them that President Tinubu remained committed to national development.

Adewole also pointed out that the only PDP federal lawmaker from Ondo State, Hon. Festus Akingbaso, along with the three remaining PDP legislators in the state House of Assembly, had recently joined the APC – a shift he said had left the state “virtually a one-party system.”

Receiving the defectors at the APC Secretariat in Akure, the state chairman of the party, Engr Ade Adetimehin, welcomed them and urged them to mobilise support for a resounding victory for President Tinubu in 2027.

“This is the party of victory. In the APC, we don’t discriminate – there are no old members or new members; we are all equal,” Adetimehin said.

He noted that President Tinubu’s performance continued to attract more supporters into the ruling party.

“President Tinubu has done well for us in this state. We can all see what he is doing. His Renewed Hope Initiatives are favouring us.

“Work has begun on new road projects in Ondo State, and our people are being given appointments. So, we must work hard to give him a landslide victory here,” he added.