The Lead Visioner of the Lagos4Lagos Movement, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as JANDOR, on Monday formally received some members of the State Executive Council (SEC) of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others, who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defectors, led by the PDP spokesperson, Hon. Hakeem Amode, included some of the party candidates in the last general elections.
They included Prince Rufus Ademola Adeniyi, former Assistant State Organising Secretary of PDP (Lagos West); Hon. Jerry Afemikhe (Olori Odo), former PDP House of Representatives Candidate, Surulere Constituency I;
Pastor Gbenga Ogunleye, Spokesman to the 2023 Lagos PDP Governorship Candidate; Hon. Keshinro Abiodun, 2023 Lagos PDP LAHA Candidate, Epe State Constituency I; Hon. Akeem Jinadu, 2023 PDP LAHA Candidate, Eti-Osa State Constituency I; Hon. Ibrahim Balogun, 2023 PDP LAHA Candidate, Kosofe State Constituency II, among others.
Speaking at a press conference organised for the event, which took place at Liberty House, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, JANDOR who received Lagos PDP exco members, described the move as a strategic consolidation of political forces, declaring that the PDP in Lagos had been effectively dissolved into the APC.
JANDOR, the governorship candidate of PDP in the 2023 poll, who had since returned to APC, lamented the perceived lack of direction and coherence in the main opposition party both at the state and national levels, citing these as the primary reasons behind the mass defection.
The APC chieftain, while presenting APC flag to the defectors, however, noted that the formal reception by the Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, would occur at a later date, saying that the day’s event symbolised the commencement of their new political journey.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Hon. Amode said that the decision to leave the PDP followed “thorough introspection and extensive consultation.”
The politician reflected on their time in the PDP as one marked by both achievements and frustrations, stating that the current state of the party made meaningful progress impossible.
According to him, the main opposition party has deviated from the values that once made it the largest and most respected political platform on the continent, declaring it was now “riddled with internal crises, unresolved legal disputes, and a disunited leadership.”
This was just as he sadly noted that the Lagos State of PDP under Hon. Philip Aivoji’s leadership had suffered from poor cohesion and strategic ineptitude, which he said proved costly in the 2023 elections.
“After years of service and unwavering commitment to the PDP’s ideals, we can no longer overlook the dysfunction plaguing the party. The PDP has deviated from the values that once made it the largest and most respected political platform on the continent. Today, it is riddled with internal crises, unresolved legal disputes, and a disunited leadership.
“Under Hon. Philip Aivoji’s leadership, the party has suffered from poor cohesion and strategic ineptitude, which proved costly in the 2023 elections.
“Victory is impossible under such circumstances,” he said, “and today we are taking control of our political destinies to better serve the people of Lagos State,” he said.
