The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ibadan North-East State Constituency II in the 2027 general elections, Hammed Taoreed Ademola, and an Accord aspirant for the same constituency, Adedapo Ojo, have led hundreds of their supporters to defect to the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State.
The defectors formally joined the APC at an event held at a private facility along Old Ife Road, Ibadan.
Ademola, popularly known as Lucky, said he abandoned the PDP ticket after assessing the political landscape ahead of the 2027 elections.
“I did my due diligence and I came to realise that any ticket outside the APC is a mere tissue paper which cannot take a candidate anywhere in 2027,” he said.
Ojo, who was an Accord aspirant, described the party as a distraction and said he decided to join the APC after concluding that the party was better positioned ahead of the election.
Receiving the defectors, the APC state chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo, assured them of equal opportunities and urged them to work for the success of the party’s candidates in 2027.
The APC governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, also pledged fairness to members across the state.
Alli promised an inclusive government, regular payment of workers’ salaries and pensions, improved working conditions and training for workers.
He also promised to establish a standard ICT hub in Ibadan within his first six months in office and replicate the initiative across Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso, Oyo and Ibarapa before January 2029.
The APC candidate further promised to ensure equitable distribution of infrastructure and basic amenities, including a general hospital in each of the state’s 33 local government areas.