The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has said more state governors will defect to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general election to strengthen President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid.

Yilwatda made this known on Tuesday during the 12th Expanded Stakeholders’ Meeting of the APC in Bayelsa State, where the party formally endorsed Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027.

Represented by the Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Emma Eneukwu, Yilwatda said Tinubu’s performance in governance was attracting governors, senators, and other key political figures from opposition parties.

“More governors and lawmakers are still on their way to our party because of the calibre, integrity, and achievements of the president. Our doors are wide open to accommodate those willing to join hands with us to move Nigeria forward.”

He cited the recent defections of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, who both left the PDP for the APC, describing their move as a sign of the president’s growing influence.

Yilwatda urged party members in Bayelsa to remain united to ensure an overwhelming victory in 2027.

“Other parties may make noise, but when you have a lion, it does not bother about barking dogs—it focuses on its mission. That is what President Tinubu is doing: taking the bull by the horns where others lacked the political will,” he said.

“From the South-South to the South-East, leaders are making realistic decisions. They are leaving their parties to back the president because they have seen his determination to take Nigeria to greater heights,” he said.

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A former lawmaker representing Kogi West senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaye, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party is “dead and buried,” alleging that the party is now under the control of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, Melaye dismissed any hopes of revival for the opposition party, saying it no longer operates independently.

“Apart from our Lord Jesus Christ, no dead can rise again. PDP is dead and buried. The party was sold, and I’m not sure they even got the payment receipt. What you have now is an APC-controlled PDP,” he said.

Melaye, who previously contested under the PDP platform, accused unnamed agents of the APC of infiltrating and steering the affairs of the party from the presidential villa.

“It is a party that has been controlled from the villa. I have said before that as far as we are concerned, it is the agents of the APC that control the PDP,” he added.

The former senator, however, stated that he is no longer a member of the PDP and has now pitched his tent with the African Democratic Congress which he described as the platform capable of defeating President Bola Tinubu’s APC government in the next general elections.

“I’m a proud member of the ADC, and by the grace of God, that is the party that will unseat Tinubu and send APC out of the villa come May 29, 2027,” Melaye stated.

While steering the discussion away from the PDP’s internal issues, Melaye urged Nigerians to focus on pressing national challenges.

“There are critical issues bedevilling this country: hunger, malnutrition, misgovernance, and maladministration. Those are the issues I think we should discuss, not a dead party,” he said.

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Supporters of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, ahead of the 2027 presidential election, have begun reaching out to opposition heavyweights, including Labour Party’s Peter Obi, in a bid to form a grand coalition strong enough to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu.

With the APC hierarchy already backing Tinubu for re-election, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoning its presidential ticket to the South, the 2027 contest is shaping into an all-Southern affair.

Party insiders who spoke with Vanguard said top PDP leaders, particularly from the North, have been mounting pressure on Jonathan to throw his hat into the ring.

Before Jonathan’s name resurfaced, several PDP bigwigs had also courted Obi to return to the fold after his 2022 defection to the LP, where he emerged as presidential flagbearer.

Obi, who has remained one of the fiercest critics of the Tinubu administration, is also backing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, which parades several prominent figures, including former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President, David Mark, former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

Asked repeatedly whether he would rejoin the PDP or align with the ADC, Obi maintained that he was committed to “any move that will save the country from the APC.”

Other Southern politicians reportedly eyeing a face-off with Tinubu include Amaechi and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.

Sources told Vanguard on Sunday that Jonathan’s camp had begun exploratory contacts with key aspirants, including Obi, urging him to step aside in support of the former president.

Speculations swirled last night that Jonathan had already met Obi privately, but aides close to the former Anambra governor dismissed the claim.

One source insisted, “It is true that Jonathan’s people want Obi to step down for him, but Jonathan himself is yet to meet Obi. I can assure you that Obi is committed to his cause of rescuing Nigeria.”

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