No fewer than 1,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have defected to the All Progressives Congress in Ibadan, declaring support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The defectors, drawn from 11 local government areas in Ibadanland, made their position known on Wednesday at the Ibadanland Stakeholders Summit organised by the Alleluyah Reformed Movement.
Leader of the movement and former lawmaker, Senator Hosea Ayoola Agboola, popularly known as Alleluyah, said the group had mobilised a strong grassroots base capable of delivering between four and five million votes for Tinubu in the next presidential election.
“As it stands, we can conveniently deliver a minimum of four million votes and as much as five million for the President,” Agboola said.
“We are not few; we are many, and what you are seeing here today is only a fraction of our strength across Ibadanland and beyond.”
He dismissed insinuations that the PDP had not suffered any real loss, insisting that the mass turnout at the summit reflected a genuine and growing shift of political allegiance.
“There have been claims that nobody is leaving the PDP, but what we have here today speaks for itself. These are committed members who have decided to align with a progressive agenda,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the Alleluyah Reformed Movement in Ibadanland, Dauda Lawal, represented by Yahya Akingbile, said the group had formally declared its total support for Tinubu’s administration and his Renewed Hope Agenda beyond 2027.
According to him, the movement emerged in August 2025 following what he described as persistent internal crises within the PDP at both state and national levels.
“We could no longer cope with the level of indiscipline, impunity and unresolved conflicts within the party. After extensive consultations, we resolved to chart a new course and align with the APC,” he said.
Lawal explained that the decision to back Tinubu was informed by what the group described as visible federal interventions in states, economic reform efforts, and policies aimed at strengthening governance at the grassroots level.
He added that the movement had built structures across all 11 local governments in Ibadanland and extended its network to the 33 local governments in Oyo State, positioning itself as a formidable political bloc within the APC.
“We are not just joining the APC; we are bringing structure, numbers and strategy. Our goal is to ensure victory for the party at all levels in 2027,” he said.
Lawal further dismissed the need for political coalitions in Oyo State ahead of the next elections, arguing that the APC now possesses sufficient internal strength to win independently.
“For years, Oyo politics has been defined by coalitions, but we are changing that narrative. With what we have on ground, APC can secure victory without relying on alliances,” he said.
In his remarks, the Secretary of the movement, Saleem Jelili, said over 10 00 defectors were physically present at the summit, noting that logistical challenges prevented many others from attending.
“We are recording thousands of defectors. As we speak, over 900 are here, and many more are still aligning with us across different local governments,” he said.
“This is a clear signal that Ibadanland is ready to rally behind President Tinubu.”
The summit attracted party stakeholders, community leaders, artisans and political actors from across Ibadanland, all of whom pledged loyalty to the APC and expressed commitment to mobilising support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
