Political realignments in Ondo State have intensified as over 100 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akoko North-East Local Government Area officially defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Among the defectors is a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly and ex-Minority Leader, Mr. Rasheed Elegbeleye, who represented Akoko North-East Constituency from 2019 to 2023.
Naija247News gathered that the high-profile defection took place in Ikare Akoko, where the State Chairman of the APC, Ade Adetimehin, received the new members with assurances of full integration into the party’s structure. He described the move as both “strategic and timely,” stressing that the APC remained the “natural home for progressives committed to people-oriented governance and sustainable development.”
According to Naija247News, Mr. Adetimehin urged loyal party members to continue supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, expressing confidence that Ondo State would deliver over one million votes for the President’s re-election bid in 2027. He added that Hon. Elegbeleye’s entry into the party further strengthened the APC’s dominance across the Sunshine State.
Naija247News understands that Mr. Elegbeleye expressed gratitude for the warm reception and pledged total loyalty to the party’s progressive ideology. He commended Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for what he described as exemplary leadership in the state. He declared boldly that with the latest defections, “there is no opposition left in Akoko North-East,” insisting that former PDP loyalists had moved “en masse” to the ruling party.
Observers note that the development further weakens the PDP’s already fragile presence in Ondo State. Naija247News gathered that key opposition figures, including the last PDP member in the House of Representatives from the state, had earlier defected to the APC, effectively turning the state into a one-party political landscape with all elective positions now occupied by APC members.
Analysts say the latest wave of defections signals a consolidation of political power ahead of the 2027 general elections. According to Naija247News, party insiders believe the APC’s widening reach could reshape grassroots mobilisation and future political contests in the region.
Naija247News understands that the development also reflects a growing trend across the Southwest, where opposition membership has steadily thinned amid rising defections to the ruling party. For many former PDP loyalists, the APC now represents both political survival and alignment with prevailing power structures at state and national levels.
Babatunde Ogunsakin ✔
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