A former Senate Chief Whip and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Hosea Agboola, through the “Alleluyah Reformed Movement,” has received over 1,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party into the APC fold and called for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
He made the call during an Ibadanland Stakeholders’ Summit organised by the movement at the main hall of A3 Hotel, Sango, Ibadan, the state capital, on Wednesday.
Agboola, popularly called Alleluyah, said the defectors were drawn from across the 11 local government areas that make up Ibadanland.
He explained that the group had mobilised a strong grassroots base capable of delivering between four and five million votes for Tinubu in the next presidential election.
PUNCH Online reports that Agboola was the only Peoples Democratic Party senator from the South-West between 2011 and 2015 in the National Assembly.
Agboola, who was also Chairman of the Advisory Council to Governor Seyi Makinde between 2019 and 2023, dumped the PDP for the APC in October 2025.
He was a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under both former Governors Rashidi Ladoja and the late Adebayo Alao-Akala.
Speaking during the summit, the former lawmaker said, “As it stands, we can conveniently deliver a minimum of four million votes and as much as five million for President Tinubu. We are not few; we are many, and what you are seeing here today is only a fraction of our strength across Ibadanland and beyond.”
He dismissed insinuations that the PDP had not suffered any real loss, insisting that the mass turnout at the summit reflected a genuine and growing shift in political allegiance.
“There have been claims that nobody is leaving the PDP, but what we have here today speaks for itself. These are committed members who have decided to align with a progressive agenda. We have over 1,000 PDP members joining the APC today, as you can see,” he added.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Alleluyah Reformed Movement in Ibadanland, Dauda Lawal, represented by Yahya Akingbile, said the group had formally declared its total support for Tinubu’s administration and his Renewed Hope Agenda beyond 2027.
“The movement emerged in August 2025 following persistent internal crises within the PDP at both state and national levels. We could no longer cope with the level of indiscipline, impunity, and unresolved conflicts within the party. After extensive consultations, we resolved to chart a new course and align with the APC,” he said.
Lawal explained that the decision to back Tinubu was informed by what the group described as visible federal interventions in states, economic reform efforts, and policies aimed at strengthening governance at the grassroots level.
He added that the movement had built structures across all 11 local government areas in Ibadanland and extended its network to the 33 local government areas in the state, positioning itself as a formidable political bloc within the APC.
“We are not just joining the APC; we are bringing structure, numbers, and strategy. Our goal is to ensure victory for the party at all levels in 2027,” he said.
Lawal further dismissed the need for political coalitions in the state ahead of the next elections, arguing that the APC now possesses sufficient internal strength to win independently.
“For years, Oyo politics has been defined by coalitions, but we are changing that narrative. With what we have on the ground, the APC can secure victory without relying on alliances,” he said.
In his remarks, the Secretary of the movement, Saleem Jelili, said over 1,000 defectors were physically present at the summit, noting that logistical challenges prevented many others from attending.
“We are recording thousands of defectors. As we speak, over 1,000 are here, and many more are still aligning with us across different local governments. This is a clear signal that Ibadanland is ready to rally behind President Tinubu,” he said.
The summit attracted party stakeholders, community leaders, artisans, and political actors from across Ibadanland, all of whom pledged loyalty to the APC and expressed commitment to mobilising support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
