There are indications that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may never recover on time from the protracted leadership crisis bedevilling the party ahead of the 2027 general election.

This is even as the party has continued to suffer losses following the outcome of the 2023 general election.

The latest injury on the PDP came after both the governors of Rivers and Osun states, Siminalayi Fubara and Ademola Adeleke, respectively, announced their exit from the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and Accord Party.

Fubara announced his defection to the APC on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

The Governor claimed that he did not receive protection from the PDP, leading to his decision to join the ruling party.

“What you all have been waiting for, what you have been asking me— the signal has finally arrived.

“We have the full support; we have the positive nod to leave where we are because we didn’t get any protection to go to where we are going.

“So, we have every reason— because the truth is, let nobody be fooled in this state— we have the people, we have the supporters.

“Our only ‘thank you’ to Mr. President is to support him, and we cannot support the President in isolation; we cannot support the President if we don’t fully identify with him—not backyard support.

“So, we have taken that decision today, since we have gotten the pass. Everyone here who has followed me, who has suffered with me— our decision today, this evening— is that we are moving to the APC,” Fubara said while announcing his defection to APC.

DAILY POST reports that Fubara’s defection comes just four days after the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 17 other lawmakers left the PDP for the APC.

The lawmakers said their departure from the PDP was because of the ongoing crisis within the party.

On his part, Adeleke announced that he was joining the Accord Party as a new platform to seek re-election in August next year.

The governor made the announcement in a post on his verified X handle on Tuesday, just a few days after resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

According to him, he had joined the Accord Party since 6th November, 2025, as a platform to seek re-election in 2026.

“Stakeholders and residents of Osun State are aware of why we are taking this important decision.

“We intend to pursue a second term in office on the platform of the Accord Party to complete ongoing delivery of good governance and democratic dividends, which have been applauded at home and abroad.

“We opted for the Accord Party because its mission of welfarism aligns with our passionate focus on citizens and workers’ welfare,” Adeleke said.

DAILY POST reports that both governors cut ties with the PDP at a time the ongoing wave of defections by governors, senators and other key politicians from opposition parties to the ruling APC has triggered fears that Africa’s largest democracy may be drifting towards a one-party state.

The development has also fueled growing concern that the ruling party under President Bola Tinubu may face little or no resistance in the 2027 polls.

DAILY POST observed that in recent months, the nation’s political terrain has witnessed a dramatic shift.

Don’t blame us – PDP tells Fubara

Reacting to Governor Fubara’s move to the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, described the development as “self-inflicted,” warning that the development threatens Nigeria’s democratic balance.

In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party said the move contributes to what it called a growing slide toward a one-party system.

According to the statement, the governor made political choices that led to his departure and should not blame the party or any stakeholder.

“Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination.

“Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or failing to protect him.

“Whilst a person at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion may suffer from temporary amnesia caused by trauma, the Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organisations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defence since this crisis started, until he capitulated.

“It is our prayer that the Governor does not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with their captor. In all, despite these, we pity the Governor and wish him well,” the PDP said.

PDP facing structural breakdown – Analyst

Meanwhile, a Public Affairs Analyst and Communication Scholar at Peaceland University, Enugu, Dr. Nduka Odo, in an interview with DAILY POST, described the recent defections of Governors Siminalayi Fubara and Ademola Adeleke from the PDP as a sign of deeper structural problems within the opposition party.

Odo said the development goes beyond the country’s usual season of defections, noting that Governor Fubara’s move to the APC represents “a strategic repositioning” driven by ongoing political battles in Rivers State, where he has been engaged in a power struggle with entrenched interests.

He explained that Governor Adeleke’s defection to the Accord Party reflects what he called “ideological fatigue” within the PDP, adding that the governor may have chosen the party to escape the internal factionalism that has destabilised the PDP in recent years.

According to him, both defections underscore the party’s “chronic failure” to manage and resolve internal conflicts.

Odo maintained that the PDP’s decline remains reversible if the party undertakes serious reforms.

He said: “What we are witnessing is not merely the usual season of defections but a deeper structural convulsion within the PDP. Fubara’s move to the APC is not an isolated gesture.

“It is a strategic repositioning driven by existential political battles in Rivers State, where the governor has been locked in a survival contest with entrenched power blocs.

“Adeleke’s defection, on the other hand, reflects a more ideological fatigue within the PDP. His choice of Accord Party signals a desire to escape the suffocating factionalism that has crippled the party.

“Both defections highlight a chronic failure of internal conflict resolution within the PDP, and Nigerians should pay attention to that.

“The PDP is not in irreversible decline, but it is certainly in an advanced stage of institutional erosion. Political parties survive on cohesion, trust, and predictable reward systems.

“When governors—who are the party’s biggest electoral assets—begin to exit, it means the internal incentive structure has collapsed.

“Yet, decline is reversible if the party can re-engineer its internal democracy and re-negotiate power with its stakeholders. The question is: does the party still have the discipline and moral capital to do so?”