The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ibadan North-East State Constituency II in the 2027 general elections, Hon. Hammed Taoreed Ademola, and an Accord aspirant for the same constituency, Hon. Adedapo Ojo, have led “hundreds” of their supporters to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State.
The defectors formally declared their membership of the APC at an event held at a private facility along Old Ife Road, Ibadan, reports Channels TV.
Ademola, popularly known as Lucky, said his decision to abandon the PDP ticket followed his assessment of the political situation ahead of the 2027 elections.
“I did my due diligence and I came to realise that any ticket outside the APC is a mere tissue paper which cannot take a candidate anywhere in 2027.
“We are here in our hundreds to formally join the APC, and we promise to do our best in the interest of the progressive party and our dear country, Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking at the event, Ojo described Accord 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.
“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,” he said.
Receiving the defectors into the APC, the State Chairman of the party, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, assured them of equal opportunities.
Adeyemo urged the new members to work assiduously for the victory of all APC candidates in the 2027 general elections, describing the election as another opportunity to rewrite the history of Nigeria.
Also speaking, the APC governorship candidate in the 2027 election, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, promised to ensure fairness to all members of the party and all zones of the state.
“It is a thing of joy that reasonable individuals are abandoning their parties to join the APC at a time like this. The hope is getting brighter every day, and it is now important for us to get more prepared because Oyo State deserves the best from May 2027.
“We have been saying that we would run an all-inclusive government which every indigene and resident of the state shall be proud of.
“Workers and pensioners would get their salaries and allowances regularly, in amounts that would be enough for them to live a decent life.
“The work environment would be conducive for all workers, including civil servants and teachers, while workers in all categories would be given adequate training and retraining to improve their productivity.
“Within our first six months in office, a standard ICT hub would be established in Ibadan, and this would be replicated in Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso, Oyo and Ibarapa before January 2029.
“We would ensure that no zone is left out in the distribution of infrastructure and basic amenities, while each of the 33 local government councils would have a general hospital that is well staffed and fully equipped to cater to the basic medical needs of our people,” Alli said.
Also present at the event were the APC deputy governorship candidate, Hon. Adesoji Adedeji; the Oyo South Senatorial candidate, Hon. Aderemi Oseni; and other party members.
