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Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, says the recent wave of defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a distraction from the country’s worsening economic hardship.
Recently, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been hit by a gale of defections, with several prominent members, including governors and lawmakers, leaving the opposition party for the APC and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Peter Mbah, the governor of Enugu, and Douye Diri of Bayelsa, moved to the APC this week.
In his monthly newsletter, released on Thursday, Makinde said the defections have not addressed the country’s prevailing poverty, hunger, inequality, and declining living standard
“With these defections, political pundits have been busy reading meanings into every handshake and silence. I have watched as our national conversation once again turns to who is moving rather than what is moving,” Makinde wrote.
“For me, the only defection that truly matters is the one that has not happened yet — the defection of hunger. I will only be moved when hunger defects into the APC.
“I meant every word of it because while people are busy changing parties, Nigerians are struggling to afford the basic necessities.
“Families are being forced to make impossible choices daily. These are the real issues, not political realignment.
“We cannot continue pretending everything is fine simply because someone in government says so. What we are experiencing is the widening of inequality. While the rich are adjusting, the poor are sinking — and that is what must command our attention.
“It is hunger, not partisanship, that fuels frustration and hopelessness. Until we deal with that, every political drama will remain a distraction.”
Makinde said every government decision that takes money out of people’s pockets moves them closer to poverty
“Policies divorced from the realities of hunger, unemployment, and the erosion of dignity are not policies worth defending. My belief is that our politics must serve humanity,” he said.
The governor said the PDP once presided over a period of relative prosperity in Nigeria, noting that the standard of living was not fair at the time.
“Nigerians may disagree on many things, but they remember when salaries had value, when businesses could plan, and when hope was not an illusion,” he said.
He said the task of the PDP members is to rebuild that trust and restore the party to what it should represent — a platform that prioritises people over politics.
Makinde said the PDP national convention in November is an opportunity for the party to “reset and reassert” its values and send a clear message that “we are focused on rebuilding lives, not merely rebuilding structures of power”.
“Let me say this again: no matter what the analysts predict, and no matter how many defections are engineered, it is the Nigerian people who will decide the outcome of the 2027 elections,” the governor added.
“Our job in the PDP is to continue to provide proof that we can deliver relief where others have brought pain.
“The hunger that grips our nation today will not last forever — but only if we, together, refuse to normalise it.”
