Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samuel Itodo, has said that Nigeria needs to review its electoral laws to forestall what he described as “unnecessary” defections by politicians.

Itodo, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, said some of the defections were needless.

According to him, people pledging support for some of the defections may be a product of financial inducement.

“I really want to reiterate as well that the legal framework needs to be reviewed in a way that it limits this sort of unnecessary defection that, to a large extent, is not informed by implosion of the political parties,” he said.

He further said that such an action shows that Nigeria’s political parties are weak in places where they exist.

“So, what you see is a mandate being substituted without due consultation with the people, and that is a back door way of sabotaging and undermining the sovereignty of the people because sovereignty and legitimacy are derived from the people,” Itodo said.

“They have got institutional, structural, and leadership problems that need fixing, so currently the health state of our political party in Nigeria is really at its lowest,” he added.

Itodo’s comments come on the sidelines of prominent politicians, including governors who dumped the party on whose platform they won elections and moved to the ruling All Progressives Congress and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

In recent months, Nigeria’s political landscape has been marked by a significant wave of defections, with governors and lawmakers abandoning the parties on whose platforms they were elected.

Critics have argued that this trend reflects the weak state of party structures in Nigeria, where officeholders shift allegiance in pursuit of political advantage rather than ideological conviction.

Among the high‑profile recent defections is that of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, who formally moved from the PDP to the APC in December 2025.

Fubara said his decision was motivated by loyalty to President Bola Tinubu, whom he credited with supporting his political survival amid ongoing tensions with lawmakers.

His move followed the defection of the Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker and 17 other lawmakers to the APC, illustrating the depth of realignment in the oil‑rich South‑South region.

The trend has not been limited to Rivers.

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and several of his officials defected to the APC earlier in 2025, a development the PDP described as deeply disappointing given the governor’s role as an elected leader entrusted with the people’s mandate.

Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno also joined the APC with members of his administration, signalling further erosion of the PDP’s dominance in the region.

In October 2025, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah became another PDP governor to defect to the APC, asserting that his decision was driven by what he described as the need to best serve the interests of his state.

Meanwhile, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang also made the move to the APC late in the year, underscoring the cross‑regional spread of defections.

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke resigned from the PDP and joined the Accord Party as his new platform ahead of future elections, highlighting inter‑party realignment beyond the APC‑PDP axis.

Beyond governors, the defection trend has extended to federal and state lawmakers. (Channels TV)

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