About five hundred members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from Ndume Ibeku ward in Umuahia north local government area of Abia state have defected to the All Progressives congress, APC.
This is even as they decried the alleged failure of the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led administration to deliver dividends of democracy to the people, vowing to ensure the sack of PDP-led government in Abia state come 2019.
Speaking at Ohokobe Mbaocha Square, venue of the declaration ceremony in Umuahia, the state capital, leader of the PDP decampees, Mr. Chukwudi Orji said their decision to dumped their former party to APC was borne out of the commitment and determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to transform Nigeria, stressing that the current federal government has laid solid foundation for the total economic development of the country.
He said that they were defecting to the governing party with over five hundred PDP members and pledged on behalf of other defectors to work collectively for the success of APC in the forthcoming 2019 governorship election in Abia state.
According to Orji, “It is obvious that PDP government has failed to provide democracy dividends to Abians. In Abia today, one can not boast of any tangible projects.
“Workers from local government level to state are being owned salaries. The unemployment rates in Abia has increased. No job for Abia youths.
“All the whole state owned infrastructures has completely gone moribund and the government has failed to resuscitate those industry that would offer jobs to many unemployed youths.
“So, today, we are saying Enough is Enough to the PDP misrule in Abia. Abians have been subjected to hardship and penury. Nothing works in the state.
“We defecting to APC because of the good vision of APC-led federal government towards repositioning the country for economic and infrastructural development. So, today, you can see mammoth of PDP members that here,over five hundred of us going APC
While welcoming the PDP decampees, the APC Ndume Ibeku ward chairman, Mr. Nnamdi Ohaeri said that the doors of APC was always open for people who have interest of the masses at heart, assuring the defectors that they would be fully carried along in the affairs of the party.
He urged the defectors to shun any negative tendencies that may jeopardise the affairs of the party in the state and harped on the need for all APC members to close ranks and work together in the interest of the party.
In his speech, a governorship aspirant and APC stalwart in the state, Ambassador Chidike Ukauwa commended the decampees for their courage to pitch tent with the progressives and advised them to work hard to ensure that APC wins in the 2019 election in Abia state.
He regretted that Abia was lagging behind in term of infrastructural development and attributed it to bad leadership by those entrusted with power.
The APC chieftain advised Abians to reject PDP in the 2019 polls, maintaining that its leadership has failed to bring about the needed change in Abia state.
