A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Hon.Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged opposition parties to stop blaming President Bola Tinubu for the defection of their members into the national ruling party.
Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), made the remarks while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo.
A former lawmaker said that rather than blaming the president, members of the opposition parties should look inward and embrace internal democracy in their parties.
The APC chieftain, who declared that political realignment is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria, said that the recent wave of defections was due to ideological persuasion and not any form of coercion as being speculated in some quarters.
He said opposition parties were losing members because of long-standing internal wrangling unattended to over the years in their fold.
“So many defectors claimed that they were sidelined, undermined, unfairly treated by their former parties, leaving them with no option but to switch to a party with a sustainable transformation agenda.
“This season of political recalibration that is leading to the growing number of Nigerian politicians defecting en masse to the ruling APC is an indication that the party has shown courage in being capable of transforming the country through the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of the president.
“Mr. President has shown commitment to prioritise national development and create a more viable platform. That is winning members into the APC fold,” he said.
Predicting more defections from the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, Oyintiloye subsequently warned the party not to blame the President or APC for its lack of cohesion.
He also dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the wave of defections of members of the opposition parties to the APC could lead to a party system.
He further said, “How can the wave of defections to the ruling party lead to a one-party system when we still have more than 60 registered political parties in the country?
“Rather than opposition parties blaming the president or ruling party, they must develop a robust strategy to check the trend through better internal democratic processes by allowing dissent, transparent primaries, and all-inclusive decision-making within the party structure.
“This will discourage defections of politicians from their various parties.
He, however, harped on the need by the APC to strengthen internal democracy within its fold to protect the current members and manage the defectors to avoid implosion as a result of the defection.
Oyintiloye also said that those defecting to the APC should not be allowed to displace loyal party members who had laboured to build the party over the years.
