Former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has rejected claims that he defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting instead that his move was a deliberate political decision aimed at charting a new course for Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
It would be recalled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) announced Aregbesola’s expulsion in January 2025, citing alleged anti-party activities.
Speaking in a video shared on 𝕏 on Monday, February 23, Aregbesola dismissed suggestions that he merely switched allegiance from one party to another.
A Conscious Step
According to him, joining the ADC was a conscious step taken after exhausting efforts to reform the APC from within.
Now serving as the National Secretary of the ADC, the former Osun State governor said he and his allies were pushed out of the APC after the party leadership refused to heed their warnings and calls for internal reform.
He maintained that the decision to embrace the ADC was not an act of defection but a strategic move driven by conviction.
“For clarity, I did not defect to ADC,” he said while addressing supporters at a political gathering. “I joined the party as a vehicle to move Nigeria from its current state of darkness into a new light.”
The Expulsion
Aregbesola further alleged that he was expelled without due process, alongside his loyalists, after the APC leadership declined to engage with their concerns.
According to him, the situation left his camp with only two alternatives: withdraw from active politics or remain engaged by adopting a new political platform to pursue their vision for the country.
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Choosing the latter, Aregbesola said the ADC now serves as the platform through which he hopes to advance his political ideals and contribute to reshaping Nigeria’s future.