A political group in Kwara State has dismissed claims that hundreds of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in Alapa/Onire/Odegiwa Ward of Owode/Onire Constituency, Asa Local Government Area, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement signed by Comrade A.A. Yusuf Babatunde, Director of Welfare of the 52-Youth Coalition, the group described the reported defection as “deliberate propaganda” and urged the public to disregard the claim.
According to the statement, many of the individuals presented as new APC members were allegedly already members of the ruling party before the event took place.
The group further claimed that the gathering was originally an APC ward meeting that was later turned into what it described as a “jamboree defection platform.”
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Questioning the figures circulated by APC supporters, the statement argued that the number of people present did not match claims that about 1,500 PDP members had joined the APC.
“From even the pictures they sent, were the number of people there up to 1,500 that they claimed defected from the PDP to the APC? Those at the meeting couldn’t be more than 300,” the statement said.
The coalition maintained that portraying the gathering as a mass defection of PDP members was misleading and alleged that the event was staged to create an impression of growing political support for the APC in the area.
The statement also alleged that those behind the event may have been motivated by financial interests, claiming that the exercise was designed to attract attention from the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to the group, support for the PDP remains strong in Alapa/Onire/Odegiwa Ward despite reports of defections.
“The reality on the ground is that a substantial number of people in Alapa/Onire/Odegiwa Ward are firmly aligned with the PDP and continue to identify with its political platform,” the statement added.
The coalition concluded by expressing confidence that residents of the state would not be misled by what it described as political propaganda.
The statement was signed by Comrade A.A. Yusuf Babatunde, Alapa/Onire/Odegiwa Ward, Director of Welfare, 52-Youth Coalition.
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