Opposition parties have dismissed the recent wave of defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the ruling party will still face defeat in the 2027 general elections despite the growing number of defecting governors and political office holders.
Speaking in an interview, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ememobong, said defections do not translate into electoral strength and accused defecting politicians of betraying the mandate freely given to them by the electorate.
According to him, elected officials who abandon the political parties on whose platforms they were voted into office raise serious moral and ethical concerns.
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“The troubling part is that this is not how the system is supposed to work. There is a social contract between elected officials and the people, and that contract is entered into on the basis of a political party,” he said.
Ememobong argued that once a politician is elected on a party platform, it is morally wrong to defect midway through the tenure. He maintained that such officials should either complete their terms before joining another party or vacate their offices to allow the original party retain the mandate.
He described the recent defections as shocking, noting that politicians who fought fierce electoral battles against the APC in 2023 were now handing over their mandates to the same party.
“This selective amnesia speaks to the moral deficiency of many political leaders. After elections widely described as political wars, they now take the fruits of victory and hand them over to the APC, their main opponent,” he said.
Ememobong insisted that defections would not give the ruling party an advantage in 2027, stressing that electoral strength is determined at the polls, not through defections.
“A governor may defect, but that does not change the political complexion of a state. Kano, for instance, remains an NNPP state until the next election. The people did not defect with these governors,” he added.
He further accused the APC of political cowardice, arguing that elections are not won by forcing defections or making citizens suffer.
“The ruling party has failed, and Nigerians who have not defected and will not defect will vote the APC out in 2027,” he said.
Also speaking, ADC spokesman Abdullahi alleged that governors defecting to the APC were motivated by personal interests rather than the welfare of their people. He claimed that many were seeking protection and easier paths to re-election.
“They believe the easiest way to secure a second term is by joining the ruling party. They are not joining because they believe in what the APC is doing or because they care about the people,” Abdullahi said.
He maintained that defecting governors would be unable to deliver their states to the APC, citing past elections where voters chose candidates from parties different from those of sitting governors.
“In Delta, Edo and even Lagos, voters proved that governors do not control electoral outcomes. If elections are free and fair, many of these governors will realise their approval ratings are below 20 per cent,” he added.
Abdullahi concluded that defeat awaited the APC in 2027 due to what he described as the poor performance of both the governors and President Bola Tinubu.
Meanwhile, the Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Usman, also echoed similar sentiments, stating that the movement of political office holders does not automatically translate into electoral dominance.
According to him, voters—not politicians—will ultimately decide the outcome of the 2027 elections.
