APC’s alleged Ubandawaki defections expose its waning support, says PDP

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ubandawaki Ward, Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State, has dismissed the reported defection of some of its members to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the development as a stage-managed political stunt designed to create a false impression of growing support for the ruling party.

The PDP ward leadership insisted that no registered member of the party defected to the APC, alleging that the reported event was an attempt by APC leaders to divert attention from what it described as the party’s declining popularity in Ubandawaki and other parts of the state.

According to the PDP, the alleged defection was particularly questionable given the recent movement of some APC members into its fold, which it said had unsettled APC leaders in the ward.

The party said APC stakeholders, including the Ubandawaki Ward Councillor and the Ilorin West Local Government Chairman, had allegedly intensified efforts to persuade some of the new PDP members to return to the APC, but that the attempts had failed.

“Rather than face the reality on the ground, the APC has resorted to staging phantom defections to please their master, who has clearly lost the goodwill and confidence of the people,” the PDP said.

In a statement signed by the PDP Ubandawaki Ward Chairman, Alhaji Moshood Ahmed Kayode, and the Ward Secretary, Hon. Mubaraq Adi, the party described the reported defection as “falsehood and carefully choreographed narration,” stressing that no PDP member in the ward had abandoned the party.

“We received with disdain the falsehood being circulated about the purported defection of PDP members to the APC in Ubandawaki Ward. Let it be stated clearly that no member of the PDP in Ubandawaki Ward defected to the APC,” the statement said.

The ward leadership further claimed that some APC members and supporters had continued to embrace the PDP because of what it described as growing dissatisfaction with the APC administration.

It maintained that the alleged defection would not affect the strength of the PDP in Ubandawaki, insisting that the party remained united and was attracting members from the APC and other political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“They should stop deceiving themselves. Staging defections and parading people for political photographs will not change the reality that the APC has become an increasingly rejected and unpopular party in Kwara State,” the party said.

The PDP also expressed confidence that it would emerge victorious in the 2027 elections, saying the party was consolidating its structure across Ubandawaki and Kwara State.

“They can continue to deceive themselves with staged defections, but reality will soon set in. The PDP is firmly positioned and coasting to victory in the 2027 elections across Kwara State,” it added.

Taking its criticism further, the party also attacked the APC’s proposed governorship candidate, identified as SYD, alleging that he was perceived by some residents as an extension of the incumbent administration.

“No amount of propaganda or staged defection will rescue their unpopular governorship candidate, SYD, who is generally seen as a puppet of the governor and an attempt to reinforce the failure and poor governance associated with the administration of Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq,” the statement declared.

The PDP subsequently challenged the APC to concentrate on addressing its political challenges rather than what it called manufactured defections, insisting that the people of Ubandawaki were increasingly looking towards the opposition party as an alternative ahead of 2027.