Major opposition parties in the country, namely the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Labour Party (LP), have started gearing up to receive mass defectors next month from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The mass defections from the ruling party, expected to commence in April, will be a fallout from primaries that will be conducted across the 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies and 990 seats across the 36 State Houses of Assembly in the country.
With the elimination of indirect primaries from the new Electoral Act, lawmakers seeking return tickets are worried that their state governors will work against their emergence.
Already, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has released a revised election timetable ahead of the 2027 polls, as well as the conduct of primaries by the various political parties.
According to the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of the electoral body, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, “The Commission had earlier fixed Saturday, February 20, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections and Saturday, March 6, 2027, for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections
“Following the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, the Commission has reviewed and realigned the schedule to ensure full compliance with the new legal framework.”
Party primaries, including dispute resolutions, have been fixed for April 23 to May 30, 2026 by INEC.
Daily Sun has gathered from some members of the state and national assemblies, who plan to return to the parliament that recent defections by governors of the opposition to the ruling APC would pose serious threats to them.
The lawmakers, who do not want to be mentioned, said the governors who joined the APC, were insisting on producing candidates ahead of the general elections next year, without any recourse to those they met in the party.
One of the lawmakers from Delta State, told Daily Sun that part of the negotiations and agreements reached with the APC and President Bola Tinubu by the governors, were the freedom to allow them handpick flag bearers for next year’s general elections. He said some of the governors were unwilling to accommodate the APC members they met in the party when they defected, but insisted on bringing in fresh candidates, predominantly from the PDP.
He said to avoid being caught unawares, the aggrieved members of the APC have opened talks with the PDP, the ADC and LP to accommodate them and offer them return tickets to the parliament.
“Governors control the structures of political parties in the states. Today, almost all the PDP governors have moved to the APC. They came with their own structures and allies. Unfortunately, the governors already reached agreements with the leadership of the APC and President Tinubu to allow them produce candidates for next year’s general elections.
“Some of us know that we will not get the tickets. Our only option is to open negotiations with the PDP, ADC and LP. Hopefully, we will use our popularity to campaign and hope that we win our re-elections next year,” one of the lawmakers who spoke in confidence, revealed.
Determined to reduce the mass defections, Daily Sun has learnt that the APC is planning to conduct its National and State Houses of Assembly primaries towards the close of the window permitted by INEC.
A source in the APC said if the plan scales through, aspirants who will be denied tickets will be unable to defect and secure tickets from the opposition parties before the end of May this year.
Credit: The Sun