Defections Can’t Break APC” — Party Chieftain Fires Back

According to Ireporter Online, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chidi Duru, has dismissed claims that the ruling party is facing the risk of internal collapse ahead of the 2027 general elections, despite the recent influx of opposition governors and lawmakers.

Duru made this known while addressing growing concerns over possible instability within the party following a wave of defections from opposition parties. He attributed the APC’s sustained stability to its strong internal discipline, clearly defined organisational structure and strict compliance with its constitution.

His remarks followed warnings from some opposition figures, including a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, who had argued that the APC would struggle to manage emerging internal contradictions. Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development and ex-APC chieftain, Solomon Dalung, had also predicted political turbulence within the party as 2027 approaches.

Reacting to these assertions, Duru described such fears as unfounded and disconnected from the realities of the APC’s internal operations. He maintained that the party is guided by a hierarchical order, discipline and an ideology that distinguishes it from other political parties.

He explained that the party’s organs remain active and effective at all levels, serving as platforms for consultations, engagement and conflict resolution. According to him, meetings are routinely held across wards, local government areas, senatorial districts, states and at the national level, including sessions of the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body.

Duru further noted that the APC has sustained an unusually high level of consultations, revealing that the party convened nearly four National Executive Committee meetings in 2025 to assess developments and address internal issues. He said the transparency of such meetings allows members to openly discuss personal and party-related concerns, helping the party to anticipate challenges and take timely action.

The APC chieftain also rejected suggestions that politicians defecting to the party were merely using it as a platform to contest elections. He argued that many of the new entrants were attracted by the party’s structure, organisation and guiding principles.

While acknowledging that such assumptions were understandable, Duru stressed that several of the defectors, particularly governors, possess sufficient political strength to pursue their ambitions on other platforms if they so desired.