Fresh indications have emerged that a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja, may be considering a move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Sources close to the former deputy governor told The Guardian that consultations over his possible defection had reached an advanced stage.

The development came shortly after Arapaja reportedly met President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. He was also said to have held a separate meeting on Tuesday with some prominent APC leaders from Oyo State at his Abuja residence.

Those said to have attended the meeting included the APC’s 2027 governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli; the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Adesoji Adedeji; Oyo South senatorial candidate in the last general election, Aderemi Oseni; as well as some of Arapaja’s political associates and other stakeholders.

Sources familiar with the meeting said discussions centred on Arapaja’s proposed entry into the APC and the political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections.
Although Arapaja has yet to publicly confirm his intention to leave the PDP, the reported consultations have fuelled speculation about a possible shift in the political landscape in Oyo State.

Arapaja has been one of Governor Seyi Makinde’s closest political allies since the governor assumed office in 2019. He previously served as the National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the PDP before becoming the party’s Deputy National Chairman (South). He is also the National Secretary of a PDP faction aligned with Governor Makinde.

A native of Idi-Arere in Ibadan, Arapaja has been active in politics since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. He served as Chairman of Ibadan South-East Local Government between 1999 and 2002, represented the Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, and was Deputy Governor of Oyo State under the late Adebayo Alao-Akala between 2007 and 2011.

As of the time of filing this report, neither Arapaja nor the Oyo State chapters of the PDP and APC had issued an official statement on the reported defection.