…mass defection wave decimates opposition ranks ahead of 2027 elections
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State has been effectively hollowed out following the official exit of its two-time governorship candidate, Hon. David Emmanuel Ombugadu, who has severed ties with the party, multiple sources confirmed.
Ombugadu, who flew the PDP flag in both the 2019 and 2023 governorship elections and came agonizingly close to victory in the latter contest, formally ended his association with the party, dealing what insiders describe as the “final death blow” to the opposition’s structure in the state.
The development comes on the heels of an earlier exodus of major PDP stakeholders to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which has rapidly positioned itself as the new home for disaffected opposition figures in Nasarawa.
The defection wave began in earnest when Senator Muhammed Ogoshi Onawo, the only PDP senator representing Nasarawa State, led a coalition of prominent party members into the ADC during a stakeholders’ meeting at Kini Hotels in Akwanga. The meeting, which produced former Deputy Governor Dr. John Mike Abdul as ADC interim chairman, signaled a seismic shift in the state’s political alignment.
Among the high-profile defectors were former Minister of Information Senator Patricia Akwashiki, former Minister of State for Justice Barr. Musa Elayo, and immediate past Minister of Environment Barr. Hassan Mohammed Abdullahi. Three-term former Senator Sulieman Adokwe, former House of Representatives member AbdulKarim Ombamas, and 2023 PDP governorship aspirant General Nuhu Angbazo (Rtd) also joined the ADC ranks.
Other notable figures making the switch included ESV Umar Musa Galadima, 2023 PDP senatorial candidate Hon. Nathaniel Aboki, and Miss Farida Umar, a recent contestant for PDP national ex-officio position.
Political analysts say Ombugadu’s departure removes the last remaining figure with statewide electoral appeal from the PDP’s depleted ranks.
“With Ombugadu gone, the PDP in Nasarawa is now essentially an empty shell,” said a senior party official who requested anonymity. “The party has lost its governorship candidate, its only senator, multiple former ministers, and its entire strategic leadership core. What remains is a skeleton structure without the flesh and blood of credible electoral contenders.”
The PDP state leadership, led by Chairman Hon. Adamu Bako, has attempted to downplay the defections, describing the ADC coalition members as “noise makers” with no electoral value. In a statement issued by Public Relations Officer Hamza Ibrahim, the party claimed that “at age 70 to 80, most of them have since exhausted their individual and collective political relevance.”
However, the exit of Ombugadu—who is 47 and commands significant grassroots following particularly among youth demographics—undermines that narrative and raises serious questions about the party’s viability ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ombugadu had previously declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election, vowing that “2027 will be a different game” and promising to resist electoral manipulation. His departure from the PDP effectively ends the party’s hopes of mounting a credible challenge to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The ADC, meanwhile, has emerged as an unexpected beneficiary of the PDP’s implosion, absorbing the opposition’s most potent political machinery and potentially positioning itself as the primary alternative to the APC in the state.
Political observers note that the mass defections reflect broader disillusionment with the PDP’s national leadership crisis, which has seen the party hemorrhage governors, senators, and House members across the country. With Nasarawa’s opposition landscape now fundamentally redrawn, the 2027 contest appears set to feature a dramatically altered competitive dynamic.
