Get Guardian on Google… Vow votes for Tinubu, APC candidates
The leadership of opposition political parties in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, has collapsed into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Social Democratic Party (SDP) defecting to the ruling party.
The movement, described by party stalwarts as the final blow to opposition presence in the local government, was received by an APC delegation led by Senator Niyi Adegbonmire, representing Ondo Central Senatorial District, and a member of the House of Representatives, Festus Akingbaso, alongside other party leaders.
The leaders, who were described as the movers and shakers of the opposition in the community, declare their allegiance to the APC, citing what they termed as the party’s visible developmental strides in the area as the primary motivation for their decision.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Bayo Adejuwon stated that the APC leadership in the area is well-acquainted with their political capacity and promised that the outcome of the coming elections in 2027 would validate their worth to the party.
Adejuwon emphasised that the new entrants are not in the party for jamboree but are fully committed to working for the victory of President Bola Tinubu and all APC candidates in the state.
Another defector, Faloyo, who identified himself as an indigene of Ijare, expressed delight at joining the APC and pledged that by January 16 and February 6, votes from his community would be delivered for Tinubu and other APC candidates.
Addressing the crowd, the former Chairman of APC in the state, Engr. Ade Adetimehin, emphasised that the defectors represented the last batch of PDP members in the ward, adding that their movement to the APC confirmed that the ruling party is fully on ground in the area.
Adetimehin, who described the development as the best thing to happen in Igbara-Oke, urged the decampees to return to their communities and begin working in earnest, stressing that statement must be made with votes on January 16.
He expressed confidence that Tinubu,Adegbonmire, and Akingbaso would all win their elections, adding that the APC is a party for everybody, from bottom to top.
Also speaking, Tobi Ogunleye, an APC leader in Ifedore Local Council, said the defection was voluntary and not rented, noting that the decampees came from the PDP, ADC, SDP.
Ogunleye alleged that some individuals within the APC in the State were moving against the interests of the candidates under the cover of a Rainbow Coalition, declaring that the gathering represented the authentic APC.
He warned that anyone working against the party’s candidates is working against the transformation agenda of Tinubu and attributed the galvanisation of people for the APC in the state to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
He added that with the decampees now in the APC, there is no longer any opposition in Ifedore Local Council, describing the new entrants as the backbone of the opposition in the area until their defection.
