Defections: APC Not Actively Recruiting Politicians – Ahmed Speaks on Party Switches

The Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG), Ismaeel Ahmed, has stated that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is not deliberately searching for politicians who want to leave their parties to join the ruling party.

Ahmed made this known on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a political programme aired on Channels Television, where he reacted to the growing number of political defections into the APC.

According to reports gathered by LMSINT MEDIA, a large number of political leaders have recently moved into the APC, with several state governors switching allegiance to the ruling party. The Governor of Zamfara State was reported as the most recent to join the party, increasing discussions about the strength of the opposition.

At the moment, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and the Governor of Bauchi State are among the few governors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who are yet to defect, although there are ongoing speculations that more political changes could still happen.

Speaking during the interview, Ahmed explained that the APC does not pressure politicians to join the party, nor does it deliberately try to weaken the opposition by encouraging defections.

He said the party only welcomes those who decide on their own to move, but it does not make it a strategy to recruit members from rival parties.

Ahmed also expressed his personal opinion about defections in Nigerian politics, stating that he is not particularly comfortable with the idea of politicians constantly changing parties.

According to him, frequent defections do not fully reflect the true spirit of democracy, because strong political competition requires stable and organized opposition parties.

He further stated that although the APC is always happy to receive new members, the current situation shows that the opposition has not been strong enough to take advantage of political opportunities available to them.

Ahmed added that he was surprised at how the opposition failed to use several national issues to improve its position, noting that a stronger opposition would normally use such moments to gain public support.

The Pi-CNG chairman concluded by saying that the ruling party is not responsible for the weakness of other parties, and that every political group must work on building its own strength instead of blaming defections for its challenges.