No fewer than 5,000 stalwarts and members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State on Sunday defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress at an event held in Ilaro, the headquarters of Yewa South Local Government Area of the state.
The PDP members, who were mainly from the Ogun West Senatorial District, were officially received into the APC by Governor Dapo Abiodun, the governorship candidate of the ruling party, and the party chairman in the state, Yemi Sanusi.
Speaking at the event, the former state chairman of the PDP, Sikirullahi Ogundele, said he decided to lead other notable PDP leaders to the ruling party to escape “political slavery” in his former party, where he disclosed that he spent seven years.
He said the mass movement of governors and other prominent politicians away from the PDP was evidence of the deep crisis within the party, stressing that it would amount to political suicide for experienced party leaders like himself and others to remain in the party.
Ogundele explained that “The truth is that there is nothing like the PDP again in the state; what is left behind is an empty shell, the umbrella which is the symbol of the party has been shredded into pieces, and some of us have escaped so as not to allow the PDP dilapidated house to collapse on us.
“We have therefore moved away from the opposition party and embrace the APC, which we know is also the next victorious party in the state come 2027 elections. We are all ready to work diligently and deploy our wealth of experience to further mobilise for the APC landmark victory in 2027.”
Commenting on the controversy surrounding the origin status of the APC governorship candidate, Ogundele described such allegations as a recurring feature peculiar to governorship contests in the state.
He, however, urged party supporters to disregard claims questioning Adeola’s Ogun roots, recalling that similar allegations had been made against past governors of the state, beginning with Aremo Olusegun Osoba in 1999, Otunba Gbenga Daniel in 2003 and Ibikunle Amosun in 2011, stressing that they all won the elections despite the allegations.
“They said Amosun is from Benin Republic, Daniel from Delta State, Osoba from Osogbo. Despite that, they all emerged as governors of the state. So, what is going on against Yayi now is an indication that he will also win”, he stated.
Those who defected to the APC alongside their supporters included Chief Sina Adejobi, Mr Akinloye Bankole, former Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Evangelist Soji Eweje, former Chairman of Yewa North Local Government, Alhaji Ganiu Dada, popularly called Obanibasiri, and former PDP Woman Leader, Chief Kemi Adeyemi, among others.
Presenting the APC’s ‘broom’ symbol to the defectors, the party chairman in the state, Chief Yemi Sanusi, assured them that they would maintain their leadership status in the APC.
Sanusi further urged the defectors to work assiduously in their respective wards to ensure that the APC won all elective positions in the state in 2027.
In his remarks, Abiodun commended the new entrants into the APC for taking the bold step to join the ruling party, noting that they would be accommodated and fully integrated into the party.
Abiodun said, “I want to thank those who have seen the light and have decided to be part of the APC. We value your courage and decision to join forces with us in the ruling party as we are more delighted to have notable politicians from the state believing in the leadership of the APC government in the state.
“I assure all of you that you will all be accommodated in the scheme of things. So let us all work together as one united family and deliver a landmark victory for the APC in the 2027 general elections.”
Source: punchng.com
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