FELIX NWANERI writes on the gale of defections rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has seen the main opposition party losing two of its governors and scores of lawmakers to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)

There seems to be no end in sight to the gale of defections rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general election despite interventions by the party’s leadership and other stakeholders to halt the drift.

The tide, which started with PDP’s loss of some members of the National Assembly elected on its platform to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has spread like wildfire, with governors joining the fray.

This development has not only caused a decline in the fortunes of the main opposition party ahead of the 2027 general election, but also raised fears over Nigeria’s possible slide to a one-party state.

From13 states out of 36 after the 2023 elections, the PDP presently controls 10 states, no thanks to its loss of Edo State to the APC in the September 2024 governorship election and the recent defection of Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta) and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) to the ruling party.

Among federal lawmakers of PDP extraction, who have dumped their party for the APC are Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South).

Others are Hon. Christian Nkwonta(Ukwa East/Ukwa West federal constituency, Abia State), Hon. Suleiman Abubakar Gumi (Gummi/Bukkuyum federal constituency, Zamfara State) and Erthiatake Ibori-Suene (Ethiope East/ Ethiope West federal constituency, Delta State).

Also on the list are Hom. Jallo Hussain Mohammed (Igabi federal constituency of Kaduna State), Hon. Adamu Tanko (Gurara/Suleja/Tafa federal constituency of Niger State) and Hon. Oluwole Oke (Obokun/Oriade federal constituency of Osun State). Chieftains of the main opposition party are also not left out of the defection frenzy.

Notable among those who have jumped ship are Anyim Pius Anyim, a former President of the Senate and ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) as well as Ifeanyi Okowa, the immediate past governor of Delta State and vice-presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 elections.

Others are the 2023 governorship candidate of the party in Lagos State, Abdulazeez Adediran; immediate past deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu and a former Edo North senator, Francis Alimikhena.

Eno: Defection foretold

The Akwa Ibom governor, who officially announced his defection to the APC on Friday after a long waiting game, said his decision followed three months of wide consultation with critical stakeholders across the state.

The governor, who attributed his defection to the crisis rocking the party, also reiterated his earlier position that members of his cabinet must defect with him or resign from their positions.

We must be able to interpret the times and flow with the times, and not run against the tide

His words: “For some time now, the political space, particularly in this state and the nation in general, has been awash with the news of my likely movement from the PDP, the platform that has provided the levers and ladder of my political ascendancy to the position of governor of this state.

“This discussion has elicited various areas of analysis in the process. Today, I am here to answer to some of those nagging questions.

Like the Dalai Lama had said, ‘we should always be open to change, but not to let go of our shared values.’ “Earlier this morning, I submitted a formal letter of resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ward chairman.

Same copy has been sent to both the state chairman as well as the national chairman. “I want to thank the Peoples Democratic Party for their support, for their love and for working with me this past two years in the affairs of running the state of Akwa Ibom across party lines, but this is a defining moment.

“I believe that no one has moved aggressively or has ever changed party in this state that has consulted as widely as I’ve done. I did that because of the respect I have for all of you as stakeholders in project Akwa Ibom. I did that knowing that each and every one of you needed to be consulted, to be informed.

“I needed your counsel, I needed to explain why I am moving, and at this point, that consultation culminated into my meeting with all the critical stakeholders in the PDP last night in this hall, where I took time to explain to all of you the reason why we must move.

“We must be able to interpret the times, and flow with the times, and not run against the tide. Having completed the rounds of my consultation, I have therefore decided to progressively move to the All Progressives Congress.” Recall that Eno was the first governor of opposition extraction to publicly endorse President Bola Tnubu for a second term.

He had while speaking at the flag-off of the Akwa Ibom section of the Lagos to Calabar highway in April, maintained that the President cannot start the project and leave it uncompleted.

The governor, who described Tinubu as a people-loving president, added that he and the people of the state are solidly behind him and that they will support him to remain in power till 2031.

Oborevwori’s collapse of Delta PDP

What could pass as the height of the PDP’s loss to the APC was defection was the defection of Delta State governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, with the entire structure of the PDP in April.

The governor, a former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, moved to the ruling party with his predecessor and vice-presidential candidate of PDP in the 2023 election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa; a former senator that represented Delta South Senatorial District for 16 years, James Manager and other major stakeholders.

Also defected alongside Governor Oborevwori were his deputy, Monday Onyeme, members of the state Assembly, commissioners, hundreds of political appointees, local government chairmen, PDP leaders and thousands of supporters.

Their defection marked an end to PDP’s 26-year-old grip on the oil-rich state. Senator Manager, who announce the defection after a six-hour closeddoor meeting at the Government House, Asaba, the Delta State capital, said: “All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the speaker, the state party chairman, all local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC.

We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.” The state Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, who also spoke, cited the need for political alignment to sustain development in the state.

“In taking that decision, we concluded that leaving the PDP was very necessary for us to be able to collaborate and build a state that every Deltan will be proud of. We believe that what is happening, and the state of the PDP, is akin to that palm wine whose taste has changed and there was a need for us to change the drinking partern,” Aniagwu said.

Between ideology and interest

Whereas most defection cases in Nigeria are mainly informed by personal interest as against ideological difference as the case in most advance countries, the question is: How many of the nation’s political parties can be identified with ideas on which economic or political systems are based.

While this informs the belief that politics in Nigeria remains a game of interest, masquerading as a contest of principles, some analysts are of the view that the defection phenomenon has only succeeded in relegating politics of ideas to the background.

According to them, the manner at which politicians, jump in and out of parties, negates the wisdom behind the provision of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The section, designed to curb defection at the slightest reason, provides as follows: “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if (g) being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected;

Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”

While attempts have been made in the past by parties on the receiving end of the defections to get legislators, who dumped the platforms on which they were elected, to vacate their seats, never materialised, the constitution is however silent in the case of governors or a president.

South-East caucus defection threat

Besides the speculated moves by the governors, the PDP also has the threat by its South-East caucus to leave the party if their choice for the national secretaryship, Sunday Udeh-Okoye is not ratified by the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC), to contend with.

Leaders of the party in the zone had, in a communique issued after the South-East PDP Zonal Executive Council meeting on May 14, announced the re-nomination of a former PDP National Youth Leader, Udeh-Okoye, to serve out the remaining tenure of the national secretary vacated by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, threatening exodus should their decision not be respected.

“In the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the party, the South-East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward,” the communique stated.

A former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa, who reaffirmed the position, declared that the party’s constitution and zonal authority must be respected above all else.

He said the moment Anyanwu declared his intention to contest the Imo State governorship, he effectively relinquished his position as PDP national secretary.

This, informed why the South East zone, which is constitutionally responsible for producing the national secretary, has repeatedly nominated Udeh-Okoye as a replacement though the nominee has been continually rejected, prompting concern and frustration. His words: “We have done that about three time now.

There is nothing insurmountable in the challenge ahead as the spirit, the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders, is very inspiring

So, if our presentation is being turned down, it means nobody wants us to make a presentation again. We have made our position very clear.

I don’t believe that whatever forces are behind Anyanwu are a stronger force than the South-East caucus because the South-East is an established zone within party and if that caucus takes a decision, that decision is binding, and our recommendation to the national cannot be thrown away.”

PDP pained, alleges plot to weaken opposition

No doubt, the last has not been heard of the defection trend, but the PDP, which appears mostly at the receiving end of the development has continued to accuse the ruling APC of a grand plot to weaken the main opposition parties ahead of the next general election.

Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, had in his reaction to the defection of Governor Oborevwori and other elected and party leaders in Delta State to the APC, described it as painful and disappointing given the level of support the party gave to the state in previous elections.

His words: “It is very sad and unfortunate because to me, if there’s any state that should think that way, not Delta, because the party is very magnanimous.

I thank God that in their message, they didn’t say that the party did anything wrong to them other than good. “It’s a decision taken by them, but the pains will be in us not because of anything, but because we gave Delta all our support, from the emergence of the governor to his predecessor, who also doubled as our vice-presidential candidate.

“We least expected this action from them. All the same, this is a party that have seen more than that, but it’s still standing,” noting that the PDP leadership is taking stock to set up a caretaker committee for the party in the state.

“I want to use this opportunity to say, we’ll take over our structures immediately,” he said, insisting that the election in 2027, will not be about how many governors a party has but about Nigerians.

A PDP chieftain and 2023 presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, who also reacted to the mass defection of top leaders of the party n Delta State to the APC, however described it as a survival tactic rather than a genuine shift in political ideology.

Momodu, who said the move did not come as a surprise, noting that Nigerian political history is filled with similar episodes of defections, said: “I’m a very good student of Nigeria’s political history, so nothing can surprise me about our politicians. The history of Nigerian politics is replete with stories of defections.

“What will surprise me is if President Bola Tinubu believes that people are joining APC because they love him or because he’s doing so fantastically well. What people are doing now is a game of survival.” He argued that harassment by anti-graft agencies is pushing politicians to align with the ruling party for protection.

“Name one of them who has not been harassed at different times by either the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) or the Special Fraud Unit. “Gone are the days when we admired the likes of Nelson Mandela, Jomo Kenyatta, MKO Abiola, Chief Obafemi Awolowo for going to detention.

These days, nobody wants to go to detention. Everybody wants be at home to enjoy the money they have made in politics. “This government’s strategy is a carrot and stick. If we can’t persuade you, we can force you. And I think force is working for now.”

A former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, on his part, said while there is still room for reconciliation in order to strengthen and reposition the party ahead of the 2027 elections, those who cannot follow the rules should leave party.

George, who expressed optimism that the Saraki committee will achieve its mandate, said: “When I see some of the top-rated members of our party jump ship, it doesn’t speak well of civilized behaviour.

But I’m happy that the governors have selected a few people to reconcile all aggrieved members, so that by the time we come to the NEC meeting, it will be seamless and be like before.

“But what I will remind members of the committee is to tell all the aggrieved members that a divided house will remain a defeated house and that they should remember that they are dancing on the graves of the founding fathers of our party because of their personal grievances. “This party is not an enterprise of any individual.

Whatever it is, in politics, there will be disagreements. You can disagree, but you must never be disagreeable. No individual, let me put it that way, is bigger than the party.

This reconciliation committee will be a last gap before the NEC meeting. The major reason for constituting this committee is to have a rancourfree NEC meeting because we need to be committed.

“We also need to tell members of the public, the electorate, that, yes, we can have disagreements, but we are capable of meeting behind closed door to discuss issues. We must come out united, so that members of the public will have more confidence in us and say if these people can manage themselves, they can be trusted.”

Advising those, who cannot abide by the party’s rules to look elsewhere, George said: “The grundnorm of the PDP is its constitution. Those who cannot abide by the constitution can take a walk, peacefully.

If you want to be a member of the party, the first responsibility you should exhibit is respect for its constitution as laid down by the founding fathers of our party.

“The PDP was packaged by Chief Alex Ekwueme and many other elders, who have passed on to the great beyond. If we respect their thought processes as packaged in the document, we are respecting them even in their graves.

So, I want to tell all those fighting to sheathe their swords. Members of the reconciliation committee will listen to A and listen to B and make their recommendations, which will be considered by the National Working Committee (NWC)., which will afterwards bring the suggested solutions before the NEC.

APC assures defectors

While there are fears in some quarters that the APC may not fulfil its promise of automatic to the PDP defectors, the NWC of the ruling party, in its reaction to Governor Eno’s defection, said he would be fully accommodated.

Describing the governor’s action as a thoughtful decision that would ensure the greater progress of Akwa Ibom State and its people, the party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, titled, “APC welcomes Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Eno,” added that it is confident that Eno’s thoughtful decision will led to greater progress of Akwa Ibom State.

The statement read: “The National Working Committee of All Progressives Congress (APC) under the leadership of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is delighted at the news of the Governor Umo Eno’s decision to join our great party. We are confident that his thoughtful decision will inure to the greater progress of Akwa Ibom State and its people.

“Our great party assures the governor of its fullest cooperation and accommodation in the APC family, as we continue to grow the party and work together towards the full realisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, for the good and benefit of all Nigerians.”

Coalition conveners not perturbed

While it is pain and disappointment for the PDP, arrowheads of the proposed coalition against the APC, appears unperturbed.

Interestingly, conveners of the coalition include chieftains of the PDP like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, aggrieved members of the APC like Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (immediate past governor of Kaduna State) and the 2023 presidential candidate ofLabour Party (LP), Peter Obi.

One of the coalition conveners, Dr. Salisu Lukman (a former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the APC,), who said they will not lose sleep over the defection of the PDP governors, added that they are aware that some PDP governors are already working for President Tinubu ahed of the 2027 elections. “You also know the situation in PDP.

The party is clearly a shadow of its own self. Although we acknowledge there are leaders in PDP who are optimistic that they can rescue the party, but if you remember, when the governors issued a statement against the coalition, our response was that many of them are working for the Tinubu. “And shortly after that, you saw the statement from Akwa Ibom, and of course, the Delta governor.

It’s not only him, if you check the comments, there are many more that are being expected to defect, but on the side of people who genuinely worry for the country, it is expression of fear about a one-party state, while on the side of the government and APC, it is jubilation,” he said.

Defection is just a function of the character of the person involved. Somebody without character will easily abandon you when his interest is threatened

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and one of the arrowheads of coalition, Babachir Lawal, who also spoke on the issue, said the defections are immaterial. His words: “In politics, there are two classes of people, those who go into politics to get something out of it and those who get into politics to put something into it.

So, I must say that it is not every Nigerian that can withstand hunger, and not every Nigerian can survive a poverty condition.

“Most of these politicians, who are defecting to APC are probably driven by the desire to safeguard their stomachs and their luxurious lifestyles.

But I saw a recent study that showed that 21 governors could not deliver their states to their preferred presidential candidates in the 2023 elections. “This means that the governors have little influence on voters at the polling units.

Yes, within the party system, they have some influence and they can rig the party primaries in favour of their candidates. A senator, for example, who is out of favour with his governor, is endangered in that sense. His governor might not give him the return ticket. He could just order everybody not to vote for him.

“But no governor can influence the voter. Take, for example, Delta State, the vice-presidential candidate of the PDP in 2023 was the serving governor then but he could not deliver. Peter Obi beat them flat in his state. In Borno State, it’s very wellknown that the current vice president could not deliver to the APC until they did some magic on the results, so that he’s not embarrassed.

“Defection is just a function of the character of the person involved. Somebody without character will easily abandon you when his interest is threatened, rather than when the interests of the masses are threatened. So, we are not bothered about defection; it will continue to happen. In 2027, we’ll go to the polls and we’ll see the results.”

All Eyes on Saraki committee

While reports equally have it that more PDP lawmakers and governors are likely to defect to the APC before the year runs out, all eyes are on the leadership of the PDP, particularly, the Senator Bukola Sarakiled reconciliation committee to halt the drift and probably save the party from extinction.

The PDP Governors Forum had last month named Saraki, a former president of the Senate as the head of a seven member reconciliation committee.

Chairman of the forum and governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, who announced the composition of the seven-man committee after a meeting with former governors of the party in Abuja, said the committee was mandated to reconcile aggrieved members of the PDP.

Other members of the committee are Governors Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State, Peter Mba of Enugu State, Senator Seriake Dickson, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo and a former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu.

Among the governors being speculated to be planning to leave the PDP for the APC are Peter Mbah (Enugu), Agbu Kefas (Taraba), Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa) and the suspended governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara. The ruling party is also said to be wooing PDP lawmakers with automatic tickets for the 2027elections.

While some of these governors have dismissed the reports, Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, in a recent media interview, confirmed that more PDP governors will join the APC before the elections. “I don’t know the number, but we are expecting more governors to join the APC,” he said.

Perhaps, it was against the backdrop of the threat by the South-East caucus that the Saraki committee, on May 23, met with the Enugu State governor, Mbah, who by his position as the only governor of the party’s extraction in the zone, is undeniably the leader of the party in the area. Saraki, who addressed journalists after the meeting, said: “This is the first state we are coming to because we appreciate the importance of the South-East in the PDP family.

As you all know, the South-East has played a key role as the bedrock of the popularity and the strength of our party. “In recognition of that, we are here to consult with him and commend him on the leadership role he has been playing in the party.

More importantly also, to commend what he is doing in Enugu State, which is a reflection for Nigerians to see what happens when you have a PDP government. “In doing that, we discussed how we will ensure that we carry out the assignment given to us and go ahead to have our NEC and our convention.

We will have one that is rancour-free and smooth, peaceful, and lays the foundation for the PDP that we all are wishing for. “We have had a very good discussion. Frankly, we have had a very useful discussion. We are going away with some of the suggestions that we have here and hopefully work on that.

With this, we can say here in Enugu that we laid the foundation for a greater new PDP that is coming. “What we have also seen today is that there is nothing insurmountable in the challenge ahead as the spirit, the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders, is very inspiring.”

While most members of the PDP are optimistic that their party will overcome its present challenges and bounce back ahead of the 2027 elections, there is no doubt that it is time the party resolves its leadership crisis, which most of the defectors predicated their decision on.