The Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refuted claims that its structure has collapsed, following Monday’s defection of its former Publicity Secretary, Hakeem Amode, and others to the All Progressives Congress.
The party, in a statement issued by its State Secretary, Soji Orioye, on Tuesday, stated that the PDP in Lagos remains strong and unbroken despite the departure of some members.
Amode and several others were welcomed into the APC by the party’s 2023 governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, aka Jandor, triggering fears of a mass defection and structural collapse within the PDP.
While announcing his defection, Amode stated, “We have decided to collapse the entire PDP structure in Lagos State, from ward to the state level, to align with His Excellency, Handle, to decamp en masse to the APC.”
However, the PDP leadership in Lagos described such claims as laughable, insisting that Amode had long distanced himself from the party’s operations.
Orioye said, “The attention of the State Executive Committee has been drawn to social media videos and reports of the defection of Alhaji Hakeem Amode and others to the APC, where they were received by Jide Adediran (Jandor).
“As much as politics is about interest, and those involved have followed their interest to the APC, we wish them well in their sojourn.
“However, the claim by Amode that they have collapsed the PDP structure in the state is laughable and can only be described as a comic remark.”
He further stated that Amode, who had resigned as the PDP’s Publicity Secretary to focus on campaigning, had not attended party meetings in a long time and was therefore unable to speak on the state’s party structure.
“We wonder how someone who abandoned his office as state publicity secretary and became campaign publicity secretary and hasn’t attended a meeting in a very long while understands the party restructuring, not to talk about collapsing the structure; you are no more part.
“The PDP structure in Lagos remains solid and is progressing, especially after healing from internal wounds inflicted by Jandor and his allies,” Orioye said.
He accused the defectors of working against the PDP during the previous general elections and claimed their recent return to the APC was a return to their “paymasters”.
Despite the defection, Orioye stated that the PDP is preparing to contest the July 12, 2025, local government elections in Lagos with “formidable candidates at the ward and council levels”.
“One may ask, can a party whose structure has supposedly collapsed be fielding candidates across all levels for an election? “The answer is clear,” he said.
Orioye advised PDP members and supporters to stay focused, assuring them that the current leadership is dedicated to rebuilding the party into a powerful and winning force in Lagos.
While wishing the defectors well, he advised them against making public statements about the PDP.
