The spokesman of the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hakeem Amode, has officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside several high-ranking party members.
Amode made the announcement on Monday during a press conference in Ikeja, where he described the move as a “pivotal decision” prompted by years of internal crisis and a collapse of party ideals.
“We’re leaving a broken system to build with visionaries,” Amode says
The defectors, inspired by the leadership of Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor)—PDP’s 2023 governorship candidate who had earlier joined the APC—said the PDP has become directionless and fractured.
“Today, we have decided to collapse the entire PDP structure in Lagos State, from ward to state level, and align with His Excellency Jandor to decamp en masse to the APC,” Amode declared.
“The PDP is in a coma and may not survive unless urgent measures are taken.”
He noted that despite their loyalty and past contributions to the PDP, they were compelled to leave due to poor leadership under Philip Aivoji and years of lost opportunities.
“This decision has not been made lightly,” he added. “It is about taking control of our political destinies to better serve our people.”
Amode clarified that the move was not driven by personal ambition, but by a desire to work with a party better positioned to deliver real governance.
Former PDP Deputy Chairman Chief Ola Apena was more blunt:
“The PDP is dead. The party is in complete limbo.”
Ibrahim Balogun, a 2023 House of Assembly candidate, also voiced his regrets, saying he wasted 18 years in the PDP and would now work for Tinubu in 2027.
He described Jandor as a visionary and a man of the people.
Jandor, welcoming the defectors, said the PDP had long stopped functioning like a political party and had become more of a social club.
According to him, the party lacked the determination and structure to win elections, and for over two decades, it had continued to waste the political destiny of its members.
Among those who joined Amode in defecting to the APC are Safurat Abdulkareem, a two-time PDP deputy governorship candidate, Prince Rufus Adeniyi, former Assistant State Organising Secretary, and Jerry Afemikhe, a former House of Representatives candidate in Surulere Constituency I.
Also defecting were several 2023 PDP House of Assembly candidates including Keshinro Abiodun (Epe 1), Akeem Jinadu (Eti-Osa 1), Ibrahim Balogun (Kosofe 2), Taofeek Obanikoro (Lagos Island 1), Tunde Pratt (Lagos Mainland 2), Saheed Aregbesola (Oshodi-Isolo 2), Sulaimon Thompson (Surulere 1), and Taofeek Kuye (Ajeromi-Ifelodun 1).
Other notable names include Adeyemi Kazeem, former PDP Chairman in Ojo Local Government, and Pastor Gbenga Ogunleye, media aide to the 2023 Lagos PDP Governorship Candidate.
