By Seyi Odewale
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged opposition parties to stop blaming President Bola Tinubu for their members’ defection to the national ruling party.
Oyintiloye, a defunct member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), made the remarks while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo.
A former lawmaker said that rather than blaming the president, members of the opposition parties should look inward and embrace internal democracy in their parties.
The APC chieftain declared that political realignment is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria and that the recent wave of defections was due to ideological persuasion, not coercion, as some quarters speculated.
He said opposition parties were losing members because of long-existing internal wrangling that had gone unattended to over the years in their fold.
“So many defectors claimed that they were sidelined, undermined, unfairly treated by their former parties, leaving them with no option but to switch to a party with a sustainable transformation agenda.
“This season of political recalibration, which is leading to a growing number of Nigerian politicians defecting en masse to the ruling APC, is an indication that the party has shown courage in being capable of transforming the country through the president’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.
“Mr President has shown commitment to prioritise national development and creating a more viable platform. That is winning members into the APC fold,” he said.
Predicting more defections from the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, Oyintiloye subsequently warned the party not to blame the President or APC for its lack of cohesion.
He also dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the wave of defections of members of the opposition parties to the APC could lead to a one-party system.
He, however, harped on the need for the APC to strengthen internal democracy within its fold to protect the current members and manage the defections to avoid implosion as a result of the defection.
Oyintiloye also said that those defecting to the APC should not be allowed to displace loyal party members who have worked to build the party over the years.
