The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Debo Ologunagba, has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against what he described as “defection shopping,” warning that such a political move will not secure the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) victory in the 2027 general elections.
Ologunagba stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Wednesday, in reaction to the defection of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah from the PDP to the APC.
He said the ruling party’s fixation on luring opposition figures was a distraction from its poor performance and failure to address Nigeria’s economic and governance challenges.
“I told the president sometime ago to stop this endorsement shopping or defection shopping; that will not help him in 2027,” Ologunagba said.
“The election in 2027 is between the APC and the Nigerian people,” he added.
The PDP spokesman argued that the Tinubu administration was using political defections to divert public attention from its failures.
According to him, “What is going on today is taking us completely away from the failure of the government. Government is doing this to deflect us from the real issues. Every time we are talking about the PDP, the Labour Party or the ANPP, we are losing focus about their failures.”
Ologunagba stressed that Nigeria’s democracy thrives on pluralism and open expression, urging the President to embrace tolerance and inclusivity in governance.
“To the President, he must know that there’s a responsibility on him to ensure that a multi-plural, multi-society like Nigeria must have opportunity for people to express themselves,” he said.
“They may not always agree with you, but you must be able to listen to them and allow them operate in their own way, so that there would be a development of democracy and we can have a virile nation,” he added.
The PDP spokesperson maintained that despite the recent wave of defections by some governors, the opposition party remained resilient and focused on rebuilding ahead of future elections.
@Vanguard