A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator Dino Melaye, has said the wave of defections by opposition governors to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election will not strengthen the party or benefit President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Melaye, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, argued that recent political trends have rendered the traditional “governor factor” ineffective in determining electoral outcomes.

He cited the performance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, in the 2023 election as evidence that voters have moved beyond state-controlled political structures.

“The 2023 presidential election signalled a political awakening in Nigeria — a loud rejection of the old order that believed power flowed from state governors and their entrenched structures. That illusion has finally collapsed,” he said.

He recalled that despite lacking governors and major financiers, Peter Obi won 11 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while Atiku Abubakar of the PDP secured victory in 12 states — eight of which were controlled by APC governors.

“The ruling APC, despite controlling 22 state governments, struggled to maintain coherence and voter confidence,” Melaye observed. “The so-called structured APC failed to secure victory even in several of its traditional bastions. In Delta State, the sitting governor and PDP vice-presidential candidate lost his home state to Obi. Similarly, in Lagos, widely regarded as Tinubu’s political stronghold, the ruling party suffered a symbolic defeat to the Labour Party.”

He maintained that the outcome of the election revealed a growing disconnect between political structures and voter sentiment, adding that Nigerians are now more politically aware and independent-minded.

“In 2023, Nigerians were not yet pushed to the wall. The cost of living, inflation, reckless borrowing, unemployment, and hunger had not reached today’s levels. Yet, even then, the people defied state machinery, patronage, and intimidation to vote with conscience rather than coercion. 2023 was a warning shot. 2027 will be the reckoning,” he stated.

Melaye predicted that continued economic hardship and public frustration under the APC-led administration would make the 2027 polls a decisive moment of rejection.

“The governors can all decamp to the ruling party and hold hands on the way down; the electorate will ensure it is a spectacular collective defeat,” he said. “The age of imposed loyalty is giving way to one of independent conviction.”

The former lawmaker also took a swipe at both the APC and PDP, describing them as political entities “sitting on powder kegs” due to internal contradictions, corruption, and loss of public trust.

“For both, implosion appears not a question of if but when, which is sooner than we thought,” he added.

Melaye asserted that the ADC was emerging as a viable alternative free from the baggage of corruption and failed governance.

“The ADC carries no legacy of looted governance and no cartel of entrenched elites. It represents a generational and moral reset — a people-driven alternative capable of redefining Nigeria’s political future,” he said.

He concluded that the 2027 elections would be “an election of the governed, not of governors,” and a “referendum between citizens and the establishment.”

“The handwriting is on the wall,” Melaye declared. “The days when governors dictated presidential outcomes are over. Nigerians have found their voice — and no power bloc can silence it again.”