TUNDE ADELEKE, Osogbo
A Board of Trustees’ member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Shuaib Oyedokun, and a gubernatorial aspirant of the party, Dotun Babayemi, have led thousands of their followers to formally join the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State.
The defectors were received into the APC by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola; the National Secretary of the party, Ajibola Basiru; and the State Party Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, among other big wings.
Addressing the mammoth crowd in a grand reception at the party secretariat in Osogbo on Friday, Babayemi stated that their decision to defect to the opposition party was motivated by their individual and group conviction to collaborate with progressive minds to create a strong and dynamic party capable of unseating the current administration in 2026.
He said: “I have said a lot about our defection, and I won’t say much today. As you all know, good governance in Osun stopped in 2022 when former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola left power. It is obvious that since then, the people of Osun have not been experiencing good governance. What we have today are political interlopers and usurpers.
“So, we are coming home today to work together with leaders and members of the APC in Osun and beyond to record more electoral successes and victories in the future elections. We will work tirelessly to take power from the PDP come 2026.”
Receiving the defectors, Oyetola claimed that the APC is a force to reckon with and has managed to hold onto its public support.
“It’s an irony that we lost an election over a year ago and there has been no major defection from the party. What we have is the reverse.
“It’s the ruling party that is coming to us, which shows that APC remains a party to beat.
“We’ve done so well, and people are starting to see that when it comes to governance, the Progressive knows how to.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the party chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, assured the defectors that they would have equal opportunity with other members of the party, urging them to converse for its growth.
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