Ajiboye says no law can stop party defection

DDM News

Biodun Ajiboye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, has openly defended the controversial wave of political defections in Nigeria.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE Television, Ajiboye addressed concerns raised by opposition parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over the constitutionality of defecting from one political party to another.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) reports that Ajiboye described party affiliation as a matter of personal conviction, rather than a legal imposition.

He argued that no legislation can compel a politician to remain in a party they no longer align with ideologically.

“The political party you belong to is a result of your mind, not any legality,” he said.

Ajiboye continued, “Which legality can force me to be in PDP if I do not want to be in PDP? If you say I should be in PDP at all costs, I say yes, I agree.

But I work for APC underground. What do you do about that?”

He dismissed court threats from the opposition as ineffective, suggesting that by the time any defection case reaches the Supreme Court, the relevant elections would already have been concluded.

“Let them start,” Ajiboye declared. “By the time they get to the Supreme Court, while the case is still being decided, the elections would have come and gone. So I don’t have a problem.”

Ajiboye said his focus is on growing the APC and persuading others to join the party, not on legal debates.

“I’m a politician. My interest is to convince you to join APC. I am not interested in whether somebody will take you to court for joining APC,” he stated.

He further noted that there is no crime in appearing loyal to one party in public while being mentally committed to another, saying, “If they do take you to court, then be APC in the mind and build their political party in your outer look; there’s no crime in that.”

Party defections continue to generate controversy in Nigeria, with the PDP maintaining that elected officials must vacate their seats if they switch allegiance.

However, legal battles on the matter have dragged through the courts without a definitive, lasting resolution.

Ajiboye’s bold remarks reflect the increasingly flexible interpretation of party loyalty within Nigeria’s democratic space.

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