6 Oyo PDP Reps defect to APM as Chinda joins APC, quits minority leader role

Six members of the House of Representatives from Oyo State have formally left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), a move widely seen as aligning with Governor Seyi Makinde’s recent political shift.

The defections were announced on the floor of the House during plenary following the Sallah break, with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas reading letters conveying the lawmakers’ decisions.

The lawmakers who switched to the APM are Anthony Adebayo Adepoju (Ibarapa North), Adedeji Stanley Olajide (Ibadan North-West/Ibadan South-West), Makanjuola Sunday Ojo (Ogo-Oluwa/Surulere), Najimdeen Oyeshina Oyedeji (Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa), Folajimi Oyekunle (Ibadan North), and Abass Adekunle Adigun (Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East).

Their defection comes weeks after Governor Makinde joined the APM and was subsequently ratified as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

In a separate development, the Speaker also read a letter announcing the defection of Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The letter notifying Chinda’s change of party affiliation was dated April 23, 2026. Following the announcement, Chinda stepped down from his position as Minority Leader of the House.

The Rivers lawmaker, a close political associate of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, recently secured the APC governorship ticket in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 elections.