The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo have continued to trade words over the defection of some members from the former to the latter in the Idanre Local Government Area of the state.

Peoples Gazette reports that Idanre is the LGA of the state Chairman of the APC, Ade Adetimehin, who, during the weekend, received over sixty prominent members and stalwarts of the PDP to the ruling party.

Among those received are Banji Kuroloja, erstwhile personal secretary to the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo; Idowu Akinseye, a former special adviser to ex-Ondo governor Olusegun Mimiko; John Jejela, PDP chairman of Elders’ Forum, among several others.

At the weekend, Mr Jejela, chairman of the PDP Elders’ Forum in Idanre, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, said they decided to “collapse the structure of the opposition party into the APC” to boost the chances of the governing party ahead of the 2024 governorship election.

Mr Jejela also revealed that the APC chairman, Mr Adetimehin, facilitated their defection.

“We collapsed the structure of PDP in Idanre Local Government Area for APC and we promise to boost the strength of APC in this local government,” Mr Jejela said when leading over sixty of the detectors from PDP to APC.

However, the APC had confirmed that it received over sixty members of the PDP into its camp who defected in the LGA.

Chairman of the APC, Mr Adetimehin, who received the defectors, explained that the crop of chieftains of PDP who decamped to the governing party were the people who gave the ruling party a tough time during elections.

Mr Adetimehin declared that, with their defection to the APC, the party would now be recording success in elections in the LGA.

He said, “I am happy today that these strong chieftains of PDP decamped to our party, APC. I can authoritatively tell you that these are the strong machineries of the PDP who always gave us a tough time during elections in Idanre Local Government,” the Ondo APC declared.

But on Wednesday, the opposition PDP countered the APC and disowned the defectors, saying those that left were facing disciplinary actions in the party.

Adekunle Akinlalu, the PDP chairman in Idanre, listed eight of the defectors as non-active members who had been on suspension for anti-party activities since after the general elections.

In a statement, Mr Akinlalu said the information about the defection of the members from PDP to APC was a deliberate falsehood.

“It was only eight members who were already on suspension due to their anti-party activities in the last general election that defected to the APC,” Mr Akinlalu said in the statement signed by the spokesman for the PDP in the LGA, Adeyemi Fasoranti, obtained by The Gazette.

He added, “It is also on record that the defectors find joy in moving from one party to the other because of fear of tomorrow.

“It is on record and crystal to everybody in the country that Idanre local government remains the home of the PDP in Ondo State. Recall that the PDP convincingly won all their previous elections in the local government.”

He, however, explained that those that have defected from the opposition party will still come back “begging” to join the PDP, as hell cannot be compared to heaven.