The wave of defection in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP continued yesterday with Senator Gbemisola Saraki and former Governor Oserheinmen Osunbor of Edo State among other adherents of the party announcing their defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The party in its first formal response to the development, the party described those leaving as lazy and gold digging politicians who it claimed would not last in their new political habitation.
Besides the duo of Senators Osunbor and Saraki, others whose defection from the party came to the fore yesterday included Mr. Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula, a former principal officer of the House of Representatives and co-founder of the Friends of Goodluck Jonathan support group, former Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, Brig.Gen.Idada Ikponmwen. Also yesterday, the APC in Rivers State said it was set to receive thousands of disenchanted supporters of the PDP into its fold.
Among those who had earlier this week announced their defection from the PDP were the former attorney general of the federation, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa, PDP governorship candidate in the 2012 governorship election in Edo State, Brig. Gen. Charles Arhiavbere, Jigawa State deputy governor, Ahmed Mahmoud and a handful of senior aides of Governor Lamido Sule of Jigawa State.
Reacting to the development yesterday, the PDP through its national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh told Vanguard that those deserting the party just under a week the party formally lost the presidency were political gold diggers.
Affirming that they were lazy politicians who the party could do without, he said:
“it is the view of the party that only lazy people, those who are not committed, dedicated will decamp one week after losing the election. We do not want political gold diggers, they can go to anywhere. We need strong and dedicated members that will rebuild the party and win the Presidential election.”
“Because we are convinced that the APC lacks what it takes to sustain our democracy, the PDP is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that it returned to power in the next four years to save the nation’s democracy and re-channel our vision of a greater Nigeria.”
Governor Adams Oshiomhole received Osunbor into the APC at Iruekpen yesterday while Gen. Idada defected with hundreds of his supporters in Benin City. Osunbor and Idada urged their supporters to vote for APC candidates in the Saturday House of Assembly elections, warning that the people of the state cannot afford to remain in opposition.
Oshiomhole who received Prof. Osunbor and thousands of his supporters to APC, expressed joy at the development saying, “I will be working with a respected professor of law like you and many of your supporters. We thank God for what he has used us to achieve. I appeal to our people to vote for our APC House of Assembly candidates because they will help me to develop our state rapidly and with the APC government at the top, the sky is our limit”.
Idada at a separate welcoming session in Benin said: “I am exceedingly happy that our people and the entire nation have overwhelmingly voted for the man of the moment, a perpendicular person, a leader of proven character, a courageous and detribalized man with zero tolerance for corruption, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari to lead this nation.
“I urge all Nigerians to and particularly our people of Edo state to give their votes en-mass at the un-concluded Edo South senatorial and House of Assembly elections coming up on the 11th of April, 2015 to APC candidates in order to support the ongoing political revolution in the country” he stated.
Arigbe-Osula was one of the first to drum support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s aspiration for the presidency ahead of the 2011 elections.
Meanwhile, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, announcing her own defection to the APC in a statement yesterday said the decision was taken after wide consultations with stakeholders across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State.
She said: “I hereby announce our formal move to the All Progressives Congress (APC). This decision is a product of wide consultations with members of the GRS Political Family that cut across all the sixteen (16) Local Government Areas of the state on the one hand and the leadership of APC on the other.
