By Godwin Okeh, ABAKALIKI
No fewer than 5,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The defectors, who donated a brand new Sienna bus to Governor David Umahi in support of his re-election campaign, said the main reason for their defection followed lack of unity in APC in the LGA.
The deputy Governor, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, announced the decision of the decampees on Friday during the flag-off of the PDP campaign held at nwanoyo mini township stadium in Ikwo LGA.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, the Ebonyi Central Senatorial candidate of APC in 2015, Chief Vincent Anyigor, said they were more than 5000 APC members from the LGA that decided to leave APC for good.
He said their decision was informed by the excellent performance of the PDP government in the state and they needed to join the moving train.
He said “we were deceived not to join Governor David Umahi in 2015 that he is a thief but if this is how a thief behaves, we want to have more of him”.
Anyigor assured the governor that they would join hands to ensure he and other PDP candidates secured 100 percent votes in the council area.
Receiving the defectors, governor Umahi commended them for making the right choice and however appointed one of the decampees, Friday Ilang, as his Technical Assistant.
The governor said the choice of Ikwo LGA for the campaign flag-off was that the people of the council area did not disappoint the party in 2015, when the area was also chosen for the party’s flag-off.
Umahi explained that he did not enjoy the support of his former boss, Ex-Governor Martin Elechi in 2015 but the people of Ikwo LGA still gave him 90 percent votes, saying that he was optimistic that they would replicate same in the upcoming elections.
He urged the party faithful to throw their support behind all PDP candidates; maintaining that those contesting against them were wasting their time as the party had, no rival in the state.
Earlier in a remark, the state Chairman of PDP, Barr. Onyekachi Nwebonyi called on the people of the state to support the reelection of Umahi and other PDP candidates as a reward for good work is more work.
He also urged the people to support the presidential candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, so that Nigeria will be transformed and rescued from insecurity and poverty.
