Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde firmly dispelled swirling speculations of defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 17, 2025, declaring his unwavering commitment to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) amid a wave of high-profile opposition exits fueling defection fever. Speaking at the launch of Lai Mohammed's book "Headlines and Soundbites" in Abuja, Makinde dismissed the chatter as elite-orchestrated distractions, stressing that ordinary Nigerians crave unity over partisan flips that fail to tackle hunger, poverty, and division.
Makinde cautioned against a "winner-takes-all" mindset that breeds exclusion, advocating cross-party collaboration on governance while lamenting how ethnic, religious, and regional manipulations exploit the masses for power grabs. He reflected on his own electoral path losing before winning in 2019 urging PDP's November convention as a reset for rebuilding lives, not just structures, confident voters will judge 2027 on delivery, not defections.
This stance contrasts recent jumps by figures like Enugu's Peter Mbah and Bayelsa's Douye Diri to APC, positioning Makinde as a PDP bulwark in the Southwest while fueling debates on opposition viability against Tinubu's machine.