Aminu Tambuwal, the former governor of Sokoto State, has described the recent PDP members’ defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as driven more by self-interest than by the good of the people. Tambuwal made the case that, in light of the APC’s economic policies and the financial suffering they have created, no Politician with a conscience would join the party after a PDP North-West Zonal meeting in Kaduna. He blamed the defections on “stomach infrastructure,” suggesting that elected officials are changing parties for selfish reasons rather than ideological reasons.
More so, in order to overthrow the APC in 2027, Tambuwal urged unity among Nigerians and PDP members. In addition, the North-West PDP stated its resolve to settle internal disputes and defeat the incumbent party in the upcoming election. A number of APC members and defectors have shared their thoughts in response to recent PDP defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Victor Osheobo, the APC’s Assistant Publicity Secretary in Edo State, called allegations of these defections “an umbrella of lies emanating from the failed ruling party.” The party has dismissed these defections as unimportant.
In 2018, APC defectors cited internal disagreements as cause.
Calling the incident a “show of shame,” he also questioned the importance of the defectors’ influence in their communities. People who have switched to the PDP, however, have given a variety of explanations for their choice. Prominent media entrepreneur Dele Momodu gave an explanation for his defection by pointing to the APC’s poor leadership, saying that under President Muhammadu Buhari’s direction, the nation’s social infrastructure, economic growth, and unity have all declined. According to him, the PDP provides a more practical forum for tackling these issues.
Party defections are a common occurrence in Nigerian politics. When 37 members of the House of Representatives and 14 senators defected to the PDP and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2018, the APC suffered severe losses. The defectors cited internal APC disagreements as the cause of this huge movement. In Nigeria’s history, party switching began in the 1950s. In 1951, the majority dynamics in the Western Regional Assembly were changed when members of the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) defected to the Action Group (AG).
Personal political aspirations have frequently been the driving forces.
There have been many defections during the Fourth Republic since 1999, most notably in 2013, when five governors in office and a large number of federal lawmakers defected from the PDP to the newly established APC. Personal political aspirations, unclear ideological commitments, and internal party conflicts have frequently been the driving forces behind these movements. The desertion tendency highlights Nigeria’s unstable political landscape, where party loyalty is usually determined more by short-term political considerations than by long-term intellectual convictions.
These defections have a variety of reasons for occurring. One important aspect is because political parties lack clear political ideas, which causes officials to put their own goals and short-term political benefits ahead of party allegiance. Concerns regarding the stability and maturity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions are raised by this tendency since frequent party flipping can erode public confidence and impede the growth of a strong political culture. Following the recent defections, opposition parties have demanded legislative action to stop these kinds of movements.
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Along with other parties like the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the PDP supports Legislation that would forbid political defections in order to promote political stability and guarantee that elected officials continue to answer to the platforms on which they were elected. Defections continue to occur, which emphasises the necessity of reassessing Nigeria’s democratic system. To fortify the country’s democracy and rebuild public trust in its political processes, it is imperative to establish distinct ideological divisions among the parties, enforce more stringent rules on party switching, and foster an accountable culture.