A former national publicity secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will not escape a defection crisis.
Ologbondiyan’s forecast followed the ‘political tsunami’ that hit the PDP in Delta state where key political leaders, including Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, officially defected to the APC. This development left the PDP, which has ruled the state for over two decades, with an empty structure.
The former party scribe’s prediction is coming as Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom state hinted on an imminent plan to leave the opposition party.
Even though the wave of PDP defections unsettles the party’s leadership, Ologbondiyan downplays the crisis, saying it is normal for politicians to align and realign ahead of an election.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, the PDP chieftain said a defection crisis is already brewing in the APC, adding that some members of the political blocs that formed the APC have started agitating.
Citing the recent move by members of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc to leave the APC, Ologbondiyan predicted that the ruling party is heading for an implosion.
“It is the PDP bell that is ringing now, and everybody is talking about mass defection. I can assure you that very soon, it’s going to start from the APC. I don’t know if it was on this program, but I remember that on this platform, I did say that implosions are going to happen, and implosions will not be limited to the People’s Democratic Party.
“Even as you speak today, if you have your ears to the ground in the All Progressives Congress, you’re already aware that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu led into the APC is in tatters, and that is the truth.
“And I’m sure you saw recently when the CPC, the arm that former President Muhammadu Buhari led into the APC, agitation started. Some people are saying oh, we will not go, we’ll stay in APC, we will not leave. Some people are saying oh, you cannot speak for us. All these accounts point to one fact, implosion is coming,” he said.
According to Ologbondiyan, the current defection wave in the PDP is “a normal situation” that requires politicians to align and realign.
“So let us sit by and watch the game as it plays out so it’s not a PDP affair alone, it’s something that will go round,” he concluded.
Eno hints
Governor Umo Eno had given his possible defection to the ruling APC at a town square meeting in Ukanafun/Oruk Anam, on Tuesday, noting that the main opposition PDP was like a spoilt plane and may no longer have the capacity to take him to the next destination from 2027.
Speaking against the backdrop of recent gale of defections from the PDP with the latest being the Delta state governor, Sheriff Oborewori, Pastor Eno hinted that the heavily fragmented PDP may soon grind to a halt.
Addressing a mammoth crowd that thronged the town square meeting at the QIC Central School, Ikot Akpankuk, headquarters of Ukanafun local government area of Akwa Ibom state, the governor disclosed that he might join the fray soon as the crucial 2027 election year inches closer.
“If you wanted to travel with Ibom Airline, and on the verge of taking off, it developed a fault that won’t enable it to fly, won’t you board the next available plane to take you to your destination?” Eno queried.
However, the governor, who enjoined the people to remain steadfast in support of his administration in its quest to deliver on its campaign promises, doled out empowerment succour to over 400 people, including business grants, cars and other freebies.