Iyabo Obasanjo Explains Decision To Dump PDP

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, a former senator, has explained why she decided to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

She said members of the party were the only ones who kept in touch with her during the more than 15 years she stayed away from active politics.

Obasanjo-Bello spoke on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief programme.

According to her, she had not been a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 2011, when she lost her Senate re-election bid.

She explained that after the election defeat, she travelled to the United States for a leadership fellowship at Harvard University and later pursued a PhD.

“I have not been an active member or even a member at all of PDP since 2011. I do not see it as leaving one party to join another. I had no party,” she said.

Obasanjo-Bello dismissed claims that she joined the APC simply because it is the ruling party.

She noted that if she wanted to align with those in power, she would have remained in the PDP when it controlled the federal government.

“If I wanted to associate with a winner, I would have stayed in PDP then and continued. I could have lobbied for a federal appointment,” she said.

She explained that her decision to join the APC was mainly influenced by personal relationships.

According to her, many of the people who stayed in contact with her while she was away from politics belonged to the APC.

“The people who reached out to me and checked on me were in APC. Nobody in the current PDP or even the ADC contacted me to ask how I was doing,” she said.

Obasanjo-Bello added that politics should still reflect human relationships and concern for people.

She also confirmed that she formally registered as a member of the APC during the party’s e-registration exercise in Ibogun, Ward 11, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The former senator said supporters had been encouraging her to return to politics for about two years before she finally made the decision.

She also ruled out returning to the PDP, citing the party’s internal crisis. She added that she considered joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) but was unsure about the party’s readiness for the coming elections.

Obasanjo-Bello is now seeking the Ogun State governorship on the APC platform ahead of the 2027 general election.

She previously served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health under former governor Gbenga Daniel before she was elected senator for Ogun Central in 2007.

However, she lost her re-election bid in 2011 to Gbenga Obadara of the Action Congress of Nigeria.

After the defeat, she returned to the United States, where she pursued an academic career and later became a professor.

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