Ogun State Governor and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dapo Abiodun, has received hundreds of former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) into the ruling party, urging them to mobilise support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The defectors, including political leaders and supporters from the nine local government areas of Ogun East Senatorial District, were formally received by the APC at a ceremony held at the Ojude-Oba carnival ground in Ijebu-Ode on Friday.
Abiodun welcomed the new members and assured them of equal treatment and integration into the party.
“We are happy you have seen the light and you have decided to follow the light. You have become one of us from now on,” the governor said.
He urged the defectors and existing APC members to return to their wards and intensify grassroots mobilisation, expressing confidence that the party would retain its position in Ogun State in 2027.
Abiodun attributed the influx of opposition members into the APC to what he described as the performance of his administration since 2019, particularly in infrastructure development.
He said more than 100 roads had been constructed across Ogun East, with about 26 of them located in Ijebu-Ode.
The governor also highlighted major projects and investments in the senatorial district, including the Gateway International Airport, the Olokola Deep Sea Port, the Olokola-Kajola Gas Industrial Free Zone and oil exploration activities in Ogun Waterside.
He announced that the reconstruction of the Ago-Iwoye–Ibadan Road would be formally flagged off on Monday in conjunction with the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
According to Abiodun, the road links Ijebu-Ode, Ago-Iwoye and Ibadan and is among projects secured with the support of President Bola Tinubu.
He added that his administration had awarded the reconstruction of the Ilishan–Ago-Iwoye–Ijebu-Igbo Road, Okun-Owa Road, Aiyepe–Odogbolu Road and Ikenne–Aiyepe Road.
The governor challenged opposition parties to point to comparable infrastructure projects delivered during their time in office.
“Help me to ask them if they have ever done even a kilometre of road?” he said.
Abiodun argued that the APC’s record in government had weakened the opposition’s campaign platform ahead of the next general elections.
“Anyone just making any baseless noise is just lying to you, because in 2019, they fell, in 2023, they also fell and I am certain that in 2027, they will also fail,” he said.
The governor also expressed optimism that Ogun would soon become an oil-producing state, while saying the development of the Olokola Deep Sea Port and the revival of the OKNLG project would boost economic activity in Ogun East and across the state.
He commended President Tinubu for supporting infrastructure development in Ogun and expressed confidence that voters in the South-West would back the President in the 2027 election on the strength of his administration’s economic and infrastructure policies.
“Every son and daughter of the South-West will vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, not because he is a son of the soil, but because of his antecedents in developing the country in terms of infrastructural and economic development,” Abiodun said.
Earlier, the Ogun State APC Chairman, Yemi Sanusi, said the growing number of opposition members joining the party reflected public recognition of the Abiodun administration’s performance.
Sanusi assured the new members that they would enjoy the same rights and privileges as existing APC members and encouraged other opposition politicians to join the party.
One of the defectors, Oladapo Odumosu, a former PDP member, thanked the governor for accepting him and his supporters into the APC. He said the administration’s performance and its openness to people across political divides influenced their decision to defect.
Other defectors, including Ladi Owoduni, Damilola Talabi, Sesan Odufuwa, Wale Adeyemi, Seun Oguntimeyin, Sunday Taiwo, Adewale Ismael and former ADC chairman in Ijebu North-East, Erinle Opeoluwa, also praised Abiodun’s leadership style.
Rotimi Okenla, who contested the Ogun State House of Assembly election on the PDP platform in 2019, said he joined the APC after 17 years in the opposition because of what he described as the administration’s performance and inclusive approach.
The new APC members pledged their loyalty to the party and promised to work towards its victory in Ogun State and nationally in the 2027 general elections.
