The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Debo Ologunagba, has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against what he described as “defection shopping” — the ruling party’s alleged strategy of luring opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ologunagba issued the warning on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television, while reacting to the recent defection of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said the ruling party’s obsession with securing defections was a distraction from its poor performance and failure to address Nigeria’s deepening economic and governance challenges.
“I told the president sometime ago to stop this endorsement shopping or defection shopping; that will not help him in 2027. The election in 2027 is between the APC and the Nigerian people,” Ologunagba stated.
The PDP spokesman accused the Tinubu administration of using political defections as a smokescreen to divert attention from the country’s worsening hardship and inflation.
He also urged the President to promote tolerance, inclusivity, and pluralism in governance, stressing that Nigeria’s democracy “thrives on open expression, not coercive consolidation.”