A former lawmaker who represented Kogi West in the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye, said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has bought over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), rendering it inefficient as an opposition force.
According to Melaye, the APC masterminded the collapse of the PDP, adding that the opposition party now takes orders from the President Bola Tinubu government before making decisions.
He made the claim while speaking on the latest edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, on Friday, August 1, 2025.
To buttress his point, Melaye, who recently defected from the PDP to the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC), observed that the PDP governors are not fulfilling their role as opposition.
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“PDP has been purchased by APC. PDP is a parastatal of the APC. PDP is a department of the APC. In fact, they take dates for NEC meetings and dates for when to have NWC from the [Presidential] Villa,” he said.
“Just look at the number of governors in the PDP today. Are these governors acting like opposition governors? Are they playing opposition roles as governors? Those who are remaining in the PDP are holding fort for the APC.”
Melaye says ADC will kick out Tinubu in 2027
In his resignation letter, the former lawmaker had described his decision to dump the PDP for the ADC as necessary due to the party’s lack of bite needed to rescue the Nigerian people from the PC.
He stated that it became “imperative due to the lack of potency and capacity by the party to deliver the Nigerian people from the prevailing political cankerworms that have eaten deeply into the fabric of our dear nation.”
Defending his exit from the party on Friday, Melaye said the PDP has stopped acting like an opposition force.
“With due respect to my uncle, Babangida Aliyu. You heard him two days ago; he said if we can tolerate Buhari for eight years, then we should tolerate Tinubu for another four years.
“Is that the voice of an opposition person? So, what I’m telling you, in essence, is we live in precarious times,” he said.
The Kogi politician gave strong assurance that the coalition party will produce a candidate capable of unseating Tinubu in 2027, warning the APC to be prepared for a serious challenge because the ADC will unleash all the weapons in its arsenal against it.
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“Those of us in the ADC need to create a comfortable, stable platform. And I believe that platform will produce a candidate that will unseat President Ahmed Bola Tinubu in 2027,” he said.
“But I have made it a point of duty that I will not be talking about a presidential candidate or aspirant or preference for anybody until we get the party completely stabilised and organise a transparent convention that will produce a presidential candidate of the ADC who, by the grace of God, will kick.”
