Nigeria's Opposition Parties Face Existential Threat as Members Defect to Ruling APC

Strategic Insights -

Nigeria's opposition parties are facing a severe threat to their existence as members continue to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in large numbers. The opposition parties have vowed to "capture power" from the APC and oust President Bola Tinubu from office, but their dwindling fortunes have raised concerns about their ability to achieve this goal. President Tinubu has dismissed the idea of a one-party state, emphasizing the importance of opposition in a democracy, but has welcomed defectors from opposition parties into the APC, stating that the ruling party will keep its doors open to all willing to join.

Key Takeaways:

  • President Tinubu has welcomed defectors from opposition parties into the APC, stating that the ruling party will keep its doors open to all willing to join.
  • Between May and June 2025, Delta Governor Oborevwori and Akwa Ibom Governor Eno, along with majority of elective and appointed members from the national to ward levels, the rank and file members, and the party structures in both states dumped the main opposition PDP and joined the APC.
  • Cross-carpeting in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly has been a one-way affair into the APC during plenaries.
  • Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has been praised by President Tinubu for his performance in office and has been welcomed into the APC, although he is currently still a member of the PDP.
  • Wike has repeatedly pledged to "support, campaign, and elect President Tinubu for a second term in office in 2027," lauding his "bold, courageous, and decisive leadership."
  • Wike has claimed that President Tinubu's infrastructural development has "killed the coalition moves by the opposition" and has broken into the Tinubu/APC victory song, 'As e dey painful dem, e go dey sweet us.'

Statistics:

  • Between May and June 2025, Delta Governor Oborevwori and Akwa Ibom Governor Eno, along with majority of elective and appointed members from the national to ward levels, the rank and file members, and the party structures in both states dumped the main opposition PDP and joined the APC.
  • Cross-carpeting in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly has been a one-way affair into the APC during plenaries, with decamping from opposition parties to the APC virtually on a daily basis in all 36 States of the Federation.

Sources:

  • The Nation, June 12, 2025: "Tinubu dissolves concerns of one-party state"
  • The Cable, June 5, 2025: "Wike speaks on Tinubu's leadership, says he's the kind of leader to take Nigeria out of the woods"
  • The Nation, June 10, 2025: "Tinubu inaugurates refurbished Abuja International Conference Centre, renamed BATICC"