Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said that the most meaningful defection Nigeria awaits is not political but economic, the “defection of hunger and poverty” from the lives of its citizens.
In his bi-monthly newsletter released on Friday, Makinde reflected on the recent wave of defections by governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), urging Nigerians to focus less on political realignments and more on the nation’s worsening economic hardship.
“I am sure many of you have been following the recent defections of politicians, especially the governors who have left the PDP for the APC and other parties,” the governor wrote.
“With these defections, political pundits have been busy reading meanings into every handshake and silence. I have watched as our national conversation once again turns to who is moving rather than what is moving. For me, the only defection that truly matters is the one that has not happened yet, the defection of hunger.”
Makinde lamented that while politicians were busy switching parties, ordinary Nigerians continued to face daily struggles to survive, forced to make “impossible choices” in the face of rising costs and unemployment.
“When I was asked about this wave of political cross-carpeting in a recent press conference, I said, ‘I will only be moved when hunger defects into the APC.’ I meant every word of it,” he said, adding that inequality was widening as the rich adjusted to economic challenges while the poor sank deeper into hardship.
According to him, the growing frustration among citizens stems not from partisanship but from hunger and hopelessness, which he described as the true threats to national stability.
Makinde emphasised that the 2027 general election would ultimately be decided by Nigerians, not by political manoeuvres or defections. He urged his party, the PDP, to rebuild trust by offering tangible solutions to economic suffering.
“No matter what analysts predict, and no matter how many defections are engineered, it is the Nigerian people who will decide the outcome of the 2027 elections,” he wrote. “Our job in the PDP is to continue to provide proof that we can deliver relief where others have brought pain.”
The governor noted that the party’s upcoming national convention in Ibadan would offer an opportunity for the PDP to “reset and reassert its values,” stressing that politics must always serve humanity.
“Let others defect for convenience. Let us stand firm for conscience,” Makinde said. “Because when hunger finally defects, prosperity will return and so will our pride as a people.”
Makinde’s remarks come amid a series of high-profile defections from the PDP to the ruling APC, including those of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, developments that have further weakened the PDP’s control ahead of the 2027 elections.
With these recent exits, the opposition party now governs only eight states nationwide.
