The All Progressives Congress has dismissed recent defections to the National Democratic Congress as politically insignificant, with APC chieftain Dr Moshood Abiola arguing that the influence and electoral value of individual politicians matter more than the number of people moving between parties.
Speaking during People’s Voice on VOP TV, Dr Abiola said the APC was more interested in attracting politicians with strong grassroots influence than simply counting the number of defectors.
“Quality is in APC. We are receiving quality people with high electoral values, and that is what counts most. One person at times can be equivalent to 10,000 people because when you take someone that has high political influence in his community, just his speech alone can bring thousands of people.”
Dr Abiola was reacting to reports that more than 5,000 members of the APC, Peoples Democratic Party and African Democratic Congress had defected to the NDC in Mubi, Adamawa State.
He argued that political influence should not be measured solely by the number of people physically moving from one party to another.
He described the movement of politicians between parties as part of the political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
‘Politicians move in pursuit of their interests’
Dr Abiola said politicians would continue to change political platforms when they believe their interests would be better served elsewhere.
He cited the movement of some politicians into the ADC, including Senator Okon, as an example, saying such defections did not necessarily threaten the APC.
“This is a political transfer season whereby politicians move from one party to the other pursuing their interest,” he said.
“If some people feel like their interest will be in ADC, just like Senator Okon leaving for ADC, we are not worried.”
Abiola questions Obi’s national spread
The APC chieftain also questioned whether Peter Obi and the NDC had sufficient geographical spread to meet the constitutional requirement for winning a presidential election.
“Peter Obi does not have electoral spread in the country,” Dr Abiola said.
“You cannot have 25 per cent of votes cast in two-thirds of 36 states including Abuja; it is impossible.”
The NDC, however, has presented recent defections as evidence of expanding grassroots support. Reports cited during the VOP TV discussion said more than 5,000 people from different political parties had joined the NDC in Mubi, while former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, had also moved away from Atiku Abubakar’s political camp to align with Obi.
Debate over pre-election inducements
The discussion also examined the practice of politicians offering financial or material incentives to supporters before elections.
Dr Abiola argued that political actors could provide incentives to supporters before elections as part of efforts to attract loyalty, saying similar practices existed in other political systems.
“Before election, you can share anything to the public and your members to buy their loyalty or for them to be attracted to you,” he said.
He cited a claim about a $5,000 proposal involving United States President Donald Trump and Republican supporters as an example.
NDC’s Adebayo says “old-guard politicians should step aside”
Meanwhile, NDC House of Representatives candidate for Surulere Constituency, Dr Adefolaseye Adebomi Adebayo, welcomed the reported defections to the party and argued that the movement reflected dissatisfaction with established political leaders and the country’s economic situation.
Speaking during the same VOP TV discussion, Dr Adebayo said Nigeria needed younger political leaders and argued that politicians who had spent many years in public life should make way for a new generation.
“There’s a time in a man’s life when you should just step aside,” Dr Adebayo said.
“Atiku has served this nation, but age is not on his side. Nigeria is a complex country and needs young minds. Nobody likes identifying with a losing team.”
Adebayo rejects social media-only narrative
Dr Adebayo also rejected suggestions that the NDC movement was largely a social media phenomenon without significant grassroots presence.
She referred to the 2023 presidential election and online support for Peter Obi, arguing that the movement had since expanded.
“They said three people tweeting in a room produce 6.1 million votes,” he said.
“Now we have become six. If three people can produce 6.1 million, just do the math—this time around, we are much bigger.”
NDC candidate blames economic hardship
Dr Adebayo attributed the party’s growing appeal, in her view, to the economic difficulties facing Nigerians under the APC administration.
She specifically criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy and its effect on the cost of living.
“The day his principal got into government and said ‘subsidy is gone,’ that was when life became hell for Nigerians,” she said.
“People cannot afford to eat. Poverty is being used to suppress Nigerians so they feel at their mercy.”
Dr Adebayo also distinguished between humanitarian assistance and vote-buying, arguing that providing food to people facing hardship should not automatically be regarded as an attempt to purchase political loyalty.
“We are not sharing money to buy loyalty. If we give people food out of humanitarian reasons, it is because the government has made their lives difficult by making transportation and food unaffordable,” she said.
The competing positions presented during the programme offered different interpretations of the current defections. While the APC argued that the influence and electoral strength of individual political figures mattered more than raw numbers, the NDC camp presented the movement as evidence of expanding grassroots support and dissatisfaction with established political leadership. The developments come amid continuing realignments among Nigeria’s political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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