2027: Senator Ajibola, Ex-APC Chair, 6,000 APC Members Move to PDP in Kwara State

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) and former three-term senator from Kwara South senatorial district, Simeon Sule Ajibola, immediate past, chairman, APC Kwara South Elders Forum, Chief James Bamisaye Ayeni and about 6,000 other members of the APC in Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, weekend, left the party for Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) ahead of 2027 elections. The development, THISDAY gathered, was not unconnected with the present political realignment ahead of 2027 elections that have continued to shape the political calculations of the state. The defection ceremony was held at the event ground opposite Amodu Filling Station in Osi town in Ekiti council area of the state. The defectors were said to have cut across all 10 wards of Ekiti Local Government Area of the state. Ayeni said his decision to lead the APC Elders Forum out of the ruling party followed extensive consultations and a shared resolve among grassroots leaders to seek political alignment capable of restoring effective governance, inclusion, and true democratic representation in Kwara South. “We can no longer fold our arms and watch the systematic marginalisation and neglect of our people. “Our decision to dump the APC alongside thousands of our members across the 10 wards of Ekiti land is rooted in the conviction that Kwara South deserves genuine development, integrity, and internal party democracy values that have been completely lost under the present administration,” he said. Ajibola, on his part, spoke of his exit from the ruling party and affirmed full alignment with the PDP structure under the statewide leadership of former Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki. Represented at the event by Mr. Tunde Fakayode, Ajibola, an indigene of Isapa Ward said, he would use all his political structures to return the local government and entire Kwara South Senatorial district to PDP come 2027. Welcoming the new members, the Kwara South PDP Senatorial Chairman, Justus Sayo Amos, lauded the decision of Ayeni, Ajibola and other defected APC members to join PDP in the state. He said the entire PDP family in the state recognised the imperative of grassroots realignment presently going on in the state, adding that, it would bring good governance, effective representation and leadership to the state come 2027. PDP chieftain and President of Orisun Igbomina, Chief Gbenga Awoyale, mocked the Kwara APC Reconciliation Committee, asserting that internal party reconciliation efforts came too late to halt the wave of opposition defections.