PDP defectors now ‘onlookers’ in APC – Ogun party chairman

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State, Abayomi Tella has said that politicians who dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress, APC, have now become “onlookers” in the ruling party.

Tella, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Thursday, said many PDP members who joined APC are being sidelined in the ruling party because they were not part of the party’s foundation and were not around when members worked to secure victories.

Recall that the immediate past chairman of PDP in the state, Sikirulai Ogundele, the former deputy governorship candidate of PDP in 2023 and others dumped the party for the ruling APC in July 2025.

But speaking with journalists on Thursday, Tella argued that the APC may not fully integrate the defectors because they were never part of the party’s struggle for power, hence they are often sidelined and remain onlookers in the ruling party.

“It is no longer enviable for a politician to cross from PDP to APC because most of our members who have gone there (APC) have become onlookers. They were not part of their system from day one.

“When the members of the party were working for their victory the defectors were not there, so they will still be treated as outsiders,” Tella said.

Tella, however said the PDP is open to welcoming either Governor Dapo Abiodun or the senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, back to the fold.

He said the PDP would work to gain from the rift between Abiodun and Daniel, should either of the two fail to secure the ticket and need a platform to run.

He said Abiodun, Daniel and former Governor Ibikunle Amosun all have political roots in the PDP, declaring that they would be welcome back at any time.

The chairman said: “Part of politics is rift, and PDP gaining from it is also part of politics. We will begin to look at areas where the PDP can gain from the ongoing rift between Dapo Abiodun and OGD, because Dapo Abiodun may not likely get his senatorial ticket from the APC. Maybe this rift will help us in luring Dapo Abiodun back to the PDP so that we can rehabilitate him for him to fit into the ideologies of PDP.

“If it is OGD that we can lure back into PDP, he is welcome. We will gladly harvest him back into the party because he is already a good breed.

“It will also be a plus for us to harvest Amosun back into PDP because we know bringing people like OGD, Abiodun, and Amosun into PDP is a big win for the party. The three of them are from this party, but it’s ambition that drove them away.

“We will begin to work immediately on the rift between Abiodun and OGD to ensure that PDP gains from it. They don’t need to be fighting in APC when they can just come to PDP where they left.”

Reaffirming the strength of the PDP in the state, Tella said the party remains resilient and deeply rooted despite challenges over the years.

“PDP is here to stay. The party can never die. If you try to kill it today, it will resurrect tomorrow. We are making frantic efforts to keep our people together,” he said.