–Lagos Reporters
Former Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Hon. Adekunle Akinlade, popularly known as Triple A, has officially rejoined the All Progressives Congress (APC), marking a significant political shift in the state.
Akinlade, who made the announcement on Tuesday in Abeokuta, said his return to the APC was the outcome of a unanimous decision reached with his loyalists and supporters who followed him from the Allied People’s Movement (APM) to the PDP ahead of the 2023 elections.
This move comes barely a week after Akinlade publicly resigned from the PDP, citing “persistent and unresolved internal crises” that have plagued the party in the state.
In his words, “The whole APM family that went to PDP with me, we have all decided that we are going back to APC. By tonight or tomorrow, we will try to meet with the Governor and tell him about the decision we have made — that we are back home.”
Akinlade added that Governor Dapo Abiodun remains the leader of the APC in Ogun State, and emphasized his group’s intention to align fully with his leadership, along with party elder statesman Aremo Olusegun Osoba.
“We believe the family will have an open hand to accommodate us back into the fold,” he said.
Akinlade, who was once a member of the House of Representatives and the APM governorship candidate in 2019, was granted a waiver to join the PDP and run as Deputy Governorship Candidate to Ladi Adebutu during the 2023 general elections — a race they lost to incumbent Governor Abiodun.
Commenting on the recent coalition moves being mooted by some political figures across the country, Akinlade dismissed them as selfish and power-hungry.
“The people behind this so-called coalition are mostly former governors, ex-ministers, and political actors who are only hungry for the power and privileges they once enjoyed. They have nothing new to offer Nigeria,” he told journalists.
With his defection, political observers say the balance of influence within Ogun State politics may once again tilt in favour of the APC, as the party consolidates its hold amid the lingering disunity in the PDP ranks.
Lagos Reporters will continue to monitor developments as the political landscape in Ogun State begins to reshape ahead of future elections.
