Former Kwara South senator Simeon Sule Ajibola and former chairman of the APC Kwara South Elders Forum James Bamisaye Ayeni have joined the Peoples Democratic Party amid political realignments ahead of the 2027 general election.
The defections were announced at an event in Osi, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, where organisers claimed that about 6,000 APC members drawn from the area’s 10 wards had also moved to the opposition party. The membership figure was not independently verified in the supplied report.
Ayeni said the decision followed consultations with grassroots political leaders who were dissatisfied with what they regarded as neglect, limited inclusion and weak internal democracy under the ruling party.
He argued that Kwara South needed stronger representation and a political platform capable of responding to the area’s development concerns.
Ajibola, represented at the gathering by Tunde Fakayode, said he would deploy his political structures in support of the PDP’s efforts to regain influence in Ekiti Local Government Area and the wider Kwara South district.
The former senator also declared alignment with the PDP organization associated with former Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Kwara South PDP chairman Justus Sayo Amos welcomed the new entrants, describing the development as part of a broader grassroots realignment. Party figure Gbenga Awoyale said reconciliation efforts within the APC had come too late to prevent defections.
The event reflects intensifying competition for local political structures in Kwara, although the actual electoral impact of the defections will depend on voter support and party organization in the months ahead.
