The National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ladipo Johnson, has described the mass defections of governors and political figures to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as “a shame and a pity.”
Johnson, who spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said the motivations behind the defections remain unclear.
“I think that the governors will know individually the reasons why they are fawning over the president or over the APC. Some have moved from the PDP and what have you. I’m not so sure it’s about good governance or about the country. It’s such a shame and a pity.
“But I hope that, at the end of the day, it’s only the people who can decide what would happen. Notwithstanding that you have 36 states and governors, something else might happen. It’s not over until it’s over. We are just entering the election year, and the elections will be held next year,” he said.
Johnson’s comments follow a wave of defections in 2025 from governors and political figures elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and rumoured defection the only governor elected on the platform of the NNPP, Abba Yusuf of Kano State.
Several governors have recently changed party affiliations. Governors who defected from PDP to APC are Enugu Governor Peter Mbah, Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri, Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno, and Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his deputy, Monday Onyeme, also joined the APC.
Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang is the latest to defect from the PDP to the APC. Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke resigned from the PDP but defected to the Accord Party.
The governor received the card, marked 001, at a ceremony held at the Government House in Jos.
The defections have largely affected South-South states, including Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Cross River, and Edo, although Edo and Cross River already have APC governors.