APC takes charge of Ogun Assembly As 6 Lawmakers Defects
Six members of the Ogun State House of Assembly elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Following the defections, the 26-member legislature is now entirely made up of APC lawmakers.
Our Correspondent reports that after the 2023 elections, the APC secured 17 seats in the Assembly, while the PDP won nine constituencies.
In November 2023, just five months into the tenth Assembly, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos nullified the election of Babajide Owoduni of the PDP, who represented Ikenne State Constituency.
The court subsequently declared Kunle Sobukola of the APC as the winner of the March 18 State Assembly election in the constituency.
The verdict reduced the number of PDP lawmakers from nine to eight.
Last year, two PDP lawmakers, Rasheed Kashamu (Ijebu North I) and Lukman Atobatele (Abeokuta South I), defected to the APC, leaving six members in the party.
The remaining six lawmakers have now joined the APC, giving the party full control of the Assembly.
The defectors include Lukman Adeleye (Odogbolu), the Minority Leader; Bello Oluwadamilare (Sagamu I); Lawal Samusideen (Ogun Waterside); Adesanya Oluseun Samuel (Ijebu North-East); Owode Waliu Ifedolapo (Ijebu East); and Dickson Kolawole Awolaja (Remo North).
It was gathered that the lawmakers attended the recently concluded APC National Convention in Abuja, where they formalised their defection.
Adeleye confirmed the move in a telephone interview with Daily Trust on Sunday.
“That is a statement of fact. Yes, we have aligned with the APC,” he said.
He attributed the defection to the ongoing crisis within the PDP, which has split the national leadership between factions led by Kabiru Turaki and Nyesom Wike blocs.
Although the court recognised the Wike-led faction, Adeleye said the lawmakers considered it safer to join the ruling party ahead of the next election.
“So, all this litigation and counter-litigation is not desirable. And then, we feel that instead of running under the Wike faction, which is more or less with the presidency, why not align with the presidency itself?
“Yes, we now have a homogeneous house. All APC members,” he said.
He disclosed that the defection would be formally announced during plenary in the coming week.
When contacted, the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella, said he was driving and would respond later.
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