The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has found itself fighting for survival, following the latest wave of defections by key leaders to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The most recent departure came on Monday when the party’s former Publicity Secretary in Lagos, Alhaji Hakeem Amode, officially joined the APC along with a group of influential PDP stakeholders. Their defection is being viewed as a critical blow to what remains of the PDP’s structure in the state.
This move comes just months after Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, the PDP’s 2023 governorship candidate, also left the party to return to the APC. Jandor had originally defected from APC to PDP ahead of the 2023 elections but later said his former party offered better prospects than the internal disunity he experienced in the PDP.
Observers believe that the departure of both Jandor and Amode has left the PDP without any credible leadership in Lagos. “It’s more than just people leaving. It’s a full-scale collapse,” a political analyst in Ikeja said.
During the 2023 elections, the PDP failed to win any seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly. The APC retained 38 out of 40 seats, while the Labour Party claimed the remaining two. In the House of Representatives elections, APC won 19 seats, Labour Party took five, and the PDP was left with none.
Perhaps the most striking indicator of the PDP’s decline was the governorship race. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC won by a wide margin, securing 762,134 votes. Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour came second with 312,329 votes. Jandor, representing the PDP, managed only 62,449 votes—finishing third.
This performance marked the first time in over 20 years that the PDP failed to come in second place in Lagos, falling behind a rising Labour Party powered by youth support and the ‘Obidient Movement’ associated with Peter Obi’s presidential bid.
In response to Monday’s defections, the Lagos PDP issued a statement signed by its State Secretary, Soji Orioye, rejecting the idea that the party has collapsed. “The claim by Amode that they have collapsed the PDP structure in the state is laughable and can best be described as a comic remark,” the statement read.
But not everyone agrees. Party insiders say the PDP in Lagos is suffering from internal conflict, a lack of direction, and the continued loss of its strongest figures to rival parties. Many also say the Labour Party has taken over as the new voice of the opposition.
Segun Yinka, a PDP member from Gbagada, blamed the ruling APC for making it difficult for opposition parties to thrive. “The APC, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has done everything possible to frustrate the opposition out of relevance. They’ve captured not just political structures, but institutions, the democratic space, and even the people’s confidence,” he said.
