The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced plans to integrate more than 10,000 members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and other political parties into its structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The development followed a courtesy visit by the executive members of the Maji Johnson Bello (MJB) Movement to the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday as part of preparations for the formal defection ceremony.
According to an official statement issued by Abimbola Tooki, Special Adviser to the National Chairman of APC on Media and Information Strategy, the MJB Movement reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the ruling party through grassroots mobilisation.
Receiving the delegation on behalf of the National Chairman of the APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, his Personal Private Secretary, Comrade Jibrin Bancir, described the planned defection as a significant development and an indication of growing confidence in the APC and the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bancir said the party was encouraged by the organisational capacity, grassroots reach and political network being brought by the MJB Movement, assuring the incoming members of seamless integration into the various structures of the APC.
He said the new members would be encouraged to actively participate in the party’s activities, particularly at the grassroots, stressing that the APC would put mechanisms in place to ensure their registration and integration from the ward level.
“We are delighted by the huge capacity that the MJB Movement is bringing to the table. The APC is ready to receive and integrate all of you into the structures of the party,” Bancir said.
He added that the party would ensure that the incoming members had opportunities to contribute meaningfully to its activities at the ward, local government, state and national levels.
“Politics is local. We will ensure that everybody knows you in your local government as bona fide members of the APC. We want you to become part and parcel of the party at the ward, local government, state and national levels,” he said.
Bancir urged the leadership of the MJB Movement to sustain its mobilisation efforts, assuring the group of the necessary institutional support for a smooth transition and integration of the decampees.
Earlier, Chairman of the MJB Movement, Honourable Maji Johnson Bello, said the decision to join the APC was based on the Movement’s conviction that the reforms being implemented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu offered a realistic pathway to addressing the country’s economic challenges.
Bello said members of the Movement had carefully assessed the direction of the country and concluded that the President’s reform agenda deserved the support of Nigerians committed to building a stronger and more prosperous nation.
He stressed that the decision was not driven by political convenience, but by a deliberate choice to support what the Movement described as the administration’s efforts to reposition the Nigerian economy and lay the foundation for sustainable national development.
“We have taken time to examine the situation in the country and the reforms being undertaken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We are convinced that the direction of the administration offers Nigeria the best opportunity to overcome its present economic realities and build a stronger future,” Bello said.
He said the planned defection would mark the beginning of a wider mobilisation campaign by the Movement, which would focus on bringing more Nigerians into the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Bello said the MJB Movement had the capacity to mobilise thousands of politically active Nigerians into the ruling party and pledged to deploy its grassroots network towards strengthening APC structures across the country.
