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The recent defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, members of the State Assembly, and others from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) may be compared to a political tsunami, but Dr. George Agbakahi, a chieftain of the APC, says it is a normal political exercise that shouldn’t provoke any negative criticism or attacks.

The claim was made by Agbakahi, who is also South East leader of Tinubu Support Organization and member of 2023 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Media and Publicity Directorate, in an interview with Arise News Television that our reporter in Abuja watched on Friday.

He claimed that the PDP’s long-running issue, which has resulted in numerous lawsuits and parallel national secretaries, had caused enough division inside the party for MPs and other party members to leave without facing repercussions.

The APC chieftain provided numerous examples and constitutional support for his argument that the defection was lawful and normal, but he also clarified that there are historical precedents that go back to the pre- and post-independence periods.

“Political alignment, realignment, coalition and defections are major characteristics of every political system. And this issue of party defection didn’t start today.

“I remember vividly even during the pre-independence days in 1951, pre-independent parties also defected from one party to the other depending on where their interest was. So that’s exactly what’s happening.

“The recent defection by the current governor of Delta state as well as the former governor and also the vice presidential candidate to Abubakar Atiku in the last general election, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa, to me is not only a political earthquake; it’s a political tsunami, in the political history of this great nation.

“But the point now is this, it’s very mind boggling to me when people like Malam El-Rufai, who was a chieftain of APC defected to SDP, even the former governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Enugu State, Chijioke Edeoga recently defected to PDP.

“Those ones didn’t make a lot of news or noise. But when big players in PDP now defected from PDP to APC like what just happened in Delta state, it has become uproar politically in the country.

“Defection started long ago even in the US, Donald Trump was once a Democrat between 2001 and 2009 before he defected to the Republican Party and now he is president of the United States, so it’s not new,” he said.

Regarding the legality of defection and whether or not people holding elected office, particularly lawmakers, should resign their seats, Agbakahi clarified that the Constitution also allowed for some flexibility by outlining the requirements that must be met before a defection can be deemed either legal or illegal.

“Let’s look at the Constitution, Section 68 (1) as well as Section 109 made it abundantly clear that one can always defect to another party. And Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution talks eloquently about freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, so it’s not a new thing, it’s natural.

“But to me, I believe this defection in Delta state is a clear confirmation and utmost authentication of the renewed hope agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“In fact I see it as actually as a demonstration by the governor of Delta and former Presidential candidate, Okowa, the faith and trust they have in the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that’s what we see.

“What happened in Delta state, you can attribute it to the fact that PDP as a political party is disorganized. In PDP currently there is no national secretary; there is a problem between Ude Okoye and Sen Samuel Anyanwu.

“And apart from that the board of trustees of PDP is divided. And if you also come to PDP, there is lack of party cohesion, there is internal strife going on in the party,” he added.

Agbakahi added that politics is a game of interest, pointing out that former Governor Okowa and his successor might have considered the complexities and foundations of the PDP and decided it would be prudent to switch to a more stable party that would appeal to Nigerians and have the potential to win the general election in 2027.

He said, “If you listened attentively during the defection personally I heard former Sen James Manager speak, he said that they don’t want to continue to stay in the sinking ship.

“Similarly the Commissioner for Works and also a spokesman during the defection said that it is because of insecurity, and he also talked about infrastructure and that they would prefer to be at the centre where they would also be getting development… you know politics in Nigeria is not only about personal interest, it’s also community interest. They felt that staying with the centre will afford them the opportunity to do a lot for their people and that’s the truth.”

As a result, the APC chieftain advised PDP members and other detractors to cease disparaging the defectors, claiming that they had broken no laws and that defection was nothing new in Nigerian politics.

“Like I told you this has been happening since 1951 during the pre-independence years, it happened again in the 1960s in the first republic, it happened in the second republic between 1979 and 1983, happened also since 1999 it has been going on. I don’t think there is anything wrong with defecting, its part and parcel of party politics,” he insisted.

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