Amidst a flurry of high-profile political realignments that have seen several state governors defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abia South Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has staunchly declared that he will never consider joining the ruling party. Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, the veteran lawmaker described himself as the very last person who would contemplate such a move.
The senator’s comments come as the APC continues to absorb governors from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including the leaders of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Enugu, Delta, Rivers, and Taraba states. Abaribe emphasized the unlikelihood of his defection, stating, “If there’s anybody that’s going to defect to APC, I think I should be the very last one. By the time I will defect, it means that there will be no political parties in Nigeria including the APC.”
The former Abia Deputy Governor questioned the motives behind the wave of defections, particularly those involving governors who actively opposed President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 general elections. He criticized the notion of handing over the ruling party’s structure to these sudden defectors, challenging the rationale behind the moves in the affected states. “Now ask yourself, in all the states where there are defections, what is going on there? These governors were in the opposition, worked against Tinubu in the 2023 general elections. Then all of a sudden, the same governors defect and you hand over the party to them,” he remarked.
Turning his attention to the upcoming presidential election, Senator Abaribe strongly predicted that President Tinubu would fail in his bid for re-election in 2027. He cited the severe hardship and widespread dissatisfaction currently felt by Nigerian citizens, arguing that the public is now more determined than ever to ensure the President does not return to office.
Abaribe maintained his long-held view on the 2023 polls, stating, “Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field, and I will see how he is going to cobble together what will make him win again.” He asserted that the current economic collapse and persistent insecurity have eroded the President’s support base, making a victory in 2027 impossible. “It won’t work because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3 a.m. before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready, we are ready, and the masses are even more ready,” the senator concluded
