The National Chairman of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Bishop Amakiri, has attributed the wave of defections sweeping across the nation’s political landscape to be more about personal ambition than national interest.
He described the trend as “political interest defection” rather than genuine people-focused realignment.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, Amakiri said political defection is a natural part of Nigeria’s democratic space, adding that the motives behind them often reveal deeper issues about the state of governance and leadership priorities in the country.
“The truth of the matter is that around the political space, you can’t take away people moving from one party to another,” he said. “But in this context, I will say there are two things: political interest defection and people’s interest projection,” he said.
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According to Amakiri, political interest defection is not to address long-term developmental challenges.
“Those who push the agenda of political interest defection are always thinking about the next election and not the next generation,” he said.
“They prioritise politics over governance. Once they feel they can’t advance their political agenda within a party, they move elsewhere.”
He admitted that the YPP, like other parties, has seen both exits and new entrants.
“In the YPP, I won’t say we haven’t had members leave, and I won’t say we haven’t accepted new members,” he said. “Politics is about interest. Once someone feels their interest no longer aligns with that of the party, they are likely to move where they think it will be protected.”
Amakiri urged Nigerians to ask more questions about the motives behind political realignments, warning that constant movement without a national vision leads to unstable governance and poor accountability.
He noted that until politicians begin to think beyond elections and focus on governance and generational impact, defections will continue to dominate the political conversation at the expense of real progress.
His comments follow ongoing defections across party lines ahead of the 2027 elections, with major stakeholders seeking new alliances to position themselves politically.
