Lagos PDP Dismisses “Collapse” Claims, Insists Party Remains Solid Despite Defections

The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has swiftly moved to allay fears of a structural collapse within its ranks, firmly asserting that the party remains “solid and intact” despite the recent high-profile defection of its former Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Hakeem Amode, and other prominent members to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party’s State Secretary, Soji Orioye, issued a statement on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, dismissing claims by Amode that the entire PDP structure in Lagos State had been collapsed into the APC. Amode, along with several other former PDP candidates and executives, was received into the APC on Monday by Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate.

In his defection speech, Amode had boldly declared, “We have decided to collapse the entire PDP structure in Lagos State, from ward to the state level, to align with His Excellency, Jandor to decamp en masse to the APC.” He cited internal crises, poor leadership, and the party’s deviation from its founding ideals as reasons for their departure.

However, the Lagos PDP leadership, through Orioye, described Amode’s claims as “laughable” and “a comic remark.” Orioye contended that Amode had long distanced himself from the party’s operations and was in no position to speak on the state’s party structure.

“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… As much as politics is about interest and those involved have followed their interest to the APC, we wish them well in their sojourn,” Orioye stated. “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.”

The party secretary further added, “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.”

Mr. Hakeem Olalemi, the PDP Vice Chairman (Lagos Central), echoed this sentiment in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, asserting that the party would not miss the defectors as they had been inactive for the past two years. “All the people that left had been inactive in the party in the past two years; we are not going to miss them at all,” Olalemi said, adding that “These people showed long ago they were not PDP members again, they are Jandor’s people and we have always known that they are APC.”

Despite the defections, the Lagos PDP maintains that its structure remains solid and is actively preparing to contest the July 12, 2025, local government elections across Lagos with “formidable candidates at the ward and council levels,” a move they believe demonstrates the party’s continued strength and unity. The party leadership also accused the defectors of having worked against the PDP during the last general elections, suggesting their recent move is a return to their “paymasters.”

The recent developments highlight the persistent internal struggles within the Lagos PDP, even as the party attempts to present a united front ahead of crucial local elections and the broader political landscape leading up to 2027.