“We are moving with Turaki”: Hundreds of APC members join PDP in Kwara

Hundreds of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Balogun Fulani Ward 2, Kwara Central Senatorial District, have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declaring their support for Senator Saliu Mustapha.

The defectors, who are members of the Saliu Mustapha Supporters, formally joined the PDP on Friday during a rally held across the Balogun Fulani community.

The rally, tagged “Hijra with Turaki,” was organised to mark the supporters’ decision to follow Senator Mustapha into the PDP following his emergence as the party’s candidate for the Kwara Central Senatorial District.

The supporters said their decision to leave the APC was driven by their loyalty to Senator Mustapha, stressing that they had resolved to remain with him as he begins a new political journey under the PDP.

Speaking during the rally, leaders of the group described the defection as a demonstration of their commitment to the senator and his political movement.

“We are moving with Turaki,” the supporters declared, as they marched through different parts of the Balogun Fulani community, waving PDP flags, singing solidarity songs and chanting the name of Senator Mustapha.

The organisers said the phrase “Hijra with Turaki” was chosen to symbolise their decision to move with Senator Mustapha, whom they referred to as the Turaki of Ilorin.

They also pledged to mobilise additional supporters for the PDP and strengthen the party’s structure in Balogun Fulani Ward 2 and other parts of Kwara Central ahead of the 2027 elections.

The latest defection adds to the political realignment among supporters of Senator Mustapha following his move to the PDP, with his loyalists continuing to publicly identify with his new political platform.