EDITORIAL: DEFECTIONS AND THE MIRAGE OF ONE PARTY RULE – A MORNING CALL TO FORMER PDP GOVERNORS: COME HOME, BUILD THE BRIDGE, NOT THE WALL

By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi

adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com

Good day, esteemed defectors Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), and any others whispering sweet nothings to the APC’s broom. As the sun rises on another day in our fragile democracy, this is not a taunt but a heartfelt wake-up call from a journalist who believes in the power of remorse, the resilience of ideas, and the unyielding voice of the Nigerian people. You woke up yesterday as PDP sons and daughters, elected under the umbrella’s shade; today, you sip tea under the broom’s shadow. But hear this: the umbrella still stands, weathered but unbroken, waiting for you to remember why you once sought its shelter.

Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com

Nigeria stands at a crossroads, teetering on the edge of what some fear is a slide into one-party dominance. The APC, under President Bola Tinubu, has welcomed you with open arms and perhaps a few federal carrots as four PDP governors (and counting) have crossed the floor in 2025 alone. Oborevwori’s en masse Delta exodus in April, Eno’s Akwa Ibom alignment in June, Mbah’s Enugu switch last month, and Diri’s Bayelsa bolt just days ago have left the PDP reeling, its map shrinking from 11 states to a precarious seven. Whispers from Fayose and Agbakahi suggest three more PDP helmsmen are packing their bags, lured by the siren song of “state development” and federal favor. But as a nation that birthed democracy from military jackboots, must we now watch it wither under the weight of opportunism?

You, our defecting governors, have recited the familiar liturgy: “In the interest of my state.” A noble refrain, one that echoes the cries of roads unpaved, schools unfunded, and hospitals unstaffed. Who among us disputes that alignment with the center unlocks the vaults of Abuja’s treasury? Yet, as journalists and citizens, we must probe deeper: Is this defection truly for the people, or a gilded exit from PDP’s internal inferno? The party’s house is indeed on fire flames of factionalism, lit by godfathers’ egos and zoning wars that consumed the 2023 ticket and left scars still raw. PDP chieftains like Kola Ologbondiyan and Emmanuel Ogidi cry coercion, pointing to APC’s “instruments of state” threats of probes, frozen allocations, and whispers of impeachment as the real puppeteers. “Humiliated and forced,” they say, branding you not visionaries but victims of a one-party siege. And let’s not forget: The APC you now court was once the opposition’s graveyard, riddled with its own defections and crises before ascending to power in 2015. History rhymes what felled them then fells you now.

But herein lies the rub, dear governors: Defection is no panacea. It is a bandage on a gangrenous wound, not a cure. You were elected not by broom or umbrella alone, but by the sacred vote of your people under PDP’s symbol, on its platform, with its promises. To abandon it mid-term, cloaked in the pretense of “federal gameplay,” erodes the very integrity you claim to uphold. What problem in PDP stripped you of that integrity? Was it the endless NEC squabbles, the failure to zone the presidency fairly, or the ghost of 2015’s loss haunting every caucus? Or, dare we whisper, is it the allure of 2027 ambitions, where Tinubu’s shadow looms large? Learn from Goodluck Jonathan, whose graceful exit in defeat preserved his legacy and dignity. Your present perch does not dictate your future power is a fickle mistress, overturned in seconds, as 2015 taught the PDP and 2023 reminded the APC.

Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com

To all defectors not just PDP governors, but the senators, lawmakers, and foot soldiers fleeing the fold what is that one thing you lost in opposition? Was it access to the pork barrel, the thrill of the winner’s circle, or the fear of irrelevance in a crumbling party? Nigeria’s democracy is not yours to auction for personal gain. It belongs to the market woman in Onitsha who queued under the sun for your PDP ticket, the farmer in Delta who trusted the umbrella’s promise of equity, the teacher in Enugu who voted for a united front against federal overreach. These voices silenced by poverty, drowned by media monopolies cry out: Defection dilutes their mandate, turning multi-party pluralism into a farce.

Yet, hope flickers. PDP can and will emerge stronger, purged of opportunists, reforged in the fires of introspection. As Ogidi wisely notes, “Good riddance of bad rubbish” may yet be the party’s salvation. Work together, not walk away. Harmonize differences through congresses, not corridors of power. The umbrella’s fabric may fray, but its weave is resilient woven by the people, for the people.
And to the APC: Your savagery in scavenging opposition ranks will not midwife a one-party state. Nigeria’s spirit rebels against monopolies, as it did against one-man rule in the ’90s. Multi-party democracy is our bulwark against tyranny; let no governor’s greed breach it.

Good morning, again, defectors. As you sip that tea, reflect: The people who handed you the pen of power watch closely. They may not hold the media’s megaphone, but in 2027, they hold the ballot. Return, reconcile, rebuild or risk the overturn that humbles kings. Nigeria’s dawn is multi-hued; let us keep it that way.

Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com

For the voiceless, the hopeful, and the unbowed: The pen rests, but the fight endures.

Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi is Political Editor at DDNewsOnline. Reach him at adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com. Views expressed are personal, yet profoundly public.