PDP candidate defects to Oyo APC ahead of 2027 election

Hammed Ademola, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate for Ibadan North-East State Constituency 2 in Oyo State, has defected to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general election. He joined the APC on Friday alongside Accord aspirant Adedapo Ojo and more than 3,000 supporters. Ademola, popularly known as Lucky, said his decision to leave the PDP was based on what he described as the political realities in the state.

He said he had assessed the prospects of parties outside the APC and concluded that the party offered the strongest platform for the 2027 contest. “I did my due diligence and realized that any ticket outside the APC is a mere tissue paper that cannot take a candidate anywhere in 2027,” Ademola said in a statement made available to Saturday PUNCH. He added that the new members would work in the interest of the party and Nigeria.

Ojo also urged voters to support the APC, describing his time in Accord as an unproductive effort. He said he and others had initially hoped to build Accord into a credible alternative but later concluded that the APC was ahead of other parties in the state. Receiving the defectors, Oyo APC chairman Moses Alake-Adeyemo promised them equal opportunities within the party.

He urged the new members to work towards the APC’s victory in the 2027 elections. The party’s Oyo State governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, said the defections showed growing support for the APC. He promised an inclusive administration if elected and pledged prompt payment of salaries and allowances to civil servants and pensioners.

Alli also promised to establish standard ICT hubs in major areas of the state before January 2029 and equip all 33 local government councils with functional general hospitals. Other party officials present included deputy governorship candidate Adesoji Adedeji and Oyo South senatorial candidate Aderemi Oseni.