‘We’ll replace them,’ NDC accuses APC of bribing its candidates to defect

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of bribing NDC candidates to defect to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general election.

The NDC spokesperson, Osa Director, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Director alleged that the APC had been scheming to lure NDC candidates with inducements, “obviously for pecuniary reasons.”

“The NDC is fully aware of the desperate and malicious tactics of the APC, which has resorted to offering money, political appointments, and other material incentives to induce some money-minded candidates of our party to jump ship and defect to its sinking fold,” he said.

The spokesperson said some NDC members and candidates “who have fallen for this bait” clearly lack the values, virtues, and ideological commitment associated with the opposition party.

“They were never truly of us. To them, we say good riddance to bad rubbish, and we wish them luck in their political misadventures,” he said, without mentioning names.

‘We’ll replace them’

Mr Director vowed that the NDC will replace those who had left the opposition party for another party.

“In line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, the party will immediately conduct fresh congresses to elect credible, competent, and trustworthy candidates to replace the defectors in the affected constituencies,” he said.

He asked the NDC supporters and members, as well as all Nigerians, not to be perturbed by the antics of the ruling APC in “bribing a few of our members.”

“These are the last kicks of a dying horse that has seen the handwriting on the wall of its imminent defeat,” he said.

The NDC spokesperson added: “The NDC remains resolutely committed to its historic mission of rescuing our country from the vice grip of the buccaneers in power and giving Nigerians the good governance, security, and prosperity they so richly desire.”

APC silent

When contacted on Tuesday for comments on the allegation, APC spokesperson Felix Morka asked a PREMIUM TIMES reporter to forward his questions via WhatsApp because he does not permit phone interviews.

But Mr Morka was yet to respond to the questions forwarded to him via WhatsApp as of the time of filing this report.

Background

The latest accusation comes shortly after the NDC governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Ibrahim Kashim, resigned from the party.

Additionally, speculations were rife on Tuesday that Mr Kashim was plotting to switch to the APC.

Apart from Mr Kashim, Rufa’i Hanga, the Senator for the Kano Central District, had resigned from the NDC in August.

Mr Hanga, the only NDC senator in Kano State, defected to the APC in September.

Kano is the home state of the NDC’s vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Similarly, six House of Representatives candidates and three State House of Assembly candidates from the NDC and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) reportedly left their parties and defected to the APC in late September.

The candidates reportedly came from Taraba, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Plateau states, but their names were not made public.

They were said to have been led into the ruling APC by Aslam Aliyu, who presented them to the party’s leadership in Abuja.

However, the ADC later disowned the defectors, saying the politicians who switched to the APC were never its members.