Hunger yet to defect from Nigeria – Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said the most important defection in Nigeria has yet to take place — the defection of hunger and poverty from the country.

In his bi-monthly newsletter released on Thursday, Makinde said while the recent wave of defections by some Peoples Democratic Party governors to the All Progressives Congress had generated public debate, Nigerians should be more concerned about when economic hardship “defects” from their lives.

“I am sure many of you have been following the recent defections of politicians — especially the governors who have left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress and other parties.

“With these defections, political pundits have been busy reading meanings into every handshake and silence. I have watched as our national conversation once again turns to who is moving rather than what is moving.

For me, the only defection that truly matters is the one that has not happened yet — the defection of hunger,” he said.

He lamented that families are being forced to make impossible choices daily while political realignments dominate the news.

“When I was asked about this wave of political cross-carpeting in a recent press conference, I said, “I will only be moved when hunger defects into the APC.” I meant every word of it.

“We cannot continue pretending that everything is fine simply because someone in government says so. What we are experiencing is the widening of inequality. While the rich are adjusting, the poor are sinking — and that is what must command our attention,” he added.

He warned that widening inequality was fuelling frustration and despair across the country, stressing that hunger, not partisanship, was deepening hopelessness among citizens.

Makinde added that only Nigerians, not political manoeuvres, would decide the outcome of the 2027 general election, urging the PDP to rebuild public trust by presenting credible solutions to economic hardship.

The governor said, “No matter what the analysts predict, and no matter how many defections are engineered, it is the Nigerian people who will decide the outcome of the 2027 elections.

“Our job in the PDP is to continue to provide proof that we can deliver relief where others have brought pain.”

The governor said the party’s forthcoming national convention in Ibadan would provide an opportunity for the PDP to “reset and reassert our values,” adding that politics must always serve humanity.

“Let others defect for convenience. Let us stand firm for conscience. Because when hunger finally defects, prosperity will return — and so will our pride as a people,” he said.

The comment comes amid a wave of high-profile defections from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, including those of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and his Bayelsa counterpart, Douye Diri.

Their exits have further weakened the PDP’s control of states ahead of the 2027 general elections, leaving the opposition party with only eight governors nationwide.