Ndume: APC overloaded with defectors — it may capsize

Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no option but to accommodate “displaced politicians” defecting from other parties.

The Borno lawmaker spoke at the sixth annual Nnamdi Azikiwe Award Lecture held in Abuja to mark the statesman’s 121st posthumous birthday.

Responding to comments by Mu’azu Aliyu, former governor of Niger, that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had excised the “cancer” weakening the party, Ndume urged political actors to prioritise national cohesion.

“I wish you good luck,” he said.

“You said you have removed the cancer but I don’t know whether it is too late or whether your patient will recover.”

Ndume said the APC would continue to receive defectors, noting that the president’s leadership style encourages inclusion.

“We in APC have no choice but to accommodate our displaced politicians that are trooping into our party,” he said.

“Our president is a leader and that brings us to today’s topic. Charity begins at home, so let us be united.”

He said politicians should rally behind President Bola Tinubu to advance national progress and foster unity.

According to him, opposition parties are preoccupied with contesting the 2027 elections rather than contributing to governance.

“We are far away from 2027 yet the PDP is gathering in Ibadan to say they want to throw away APC,” he said.

“Wait until 2027. Come and contribute to the success of the government, but instead they say they want to come into APC.”

Ndume added that the influx of defectors could strain the ruling party.

“We opened the door,” he said.

“In fact, I warned that APC is being overloaded and when you load a ship with mostly empty cargo, there is a chance it will capsize, and if it capsizes, the owner of the ship is in a bigger problem. That is where we find ourselves.”

He said the PDP is uncomfortable with the role of the minority or opposition, adding that the APC leadership had extended invitations to some of the defectors.

“But when your brother is displaced because of a crisis in his party and he knocks at your door, will you keep the door closed or open it?” he asked.

“So that is what is happening to us.”

The Borno lawmaker said many of those who joined the APC are not making meaningful contributions.

“So when they come into APC, they do not contribute anything,” he said.

“They do not say anything; they just sit down and be part of it.”

‘WE’VE REMOVED CANCER THAT CRIPPLED PDP’

Earlier, Aliyu, who chairs the 2025 national planning committee of the lecture, criticised the wave of defections from various parties to the APC.

Aliyu warned that Nigeria could suffer the consequences of sliding into a one-party state.

“Believe me, if we make the mistake of creating a one-party state in Nigeria, we will pay for it,” he said.

“So it is good that we give people an alternative, but that does not mean we must accept a situation where everyone moves in one direction.”

He said the PDP once controlled 28 state governments without controversy, adding that the problem lies in defections motivated by inducement or intimidation.

“The constitution says you cannot move to another party with the mandate of a different party, yet we are not following that rule,” he said.

He said this prompted the PDP to meet in Ibadan to reflect on the party’s troubles.

“Like surgeons, we removed the cancer — the cancer that crippled our party,” he said.

“We hope that with its removal, the party can move again and give Nigerians an option.”