Over 500 members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo East Local Government Area of Ondo State on Saturday defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
The decampees were led by a former top official in Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s government, Folajimi Adefemisoye, who said they parted ways with the present administration because of its deceitful nature.
The new APC members who held their brooms, the symbol of the party firmly, are mainly supporters of the APC leader in the Ondo East/West Federal Constituency, Hon Bola Ilori.
Ilori, former Special Adviser to Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Environmental and Sanitation Matters, enthused that the APC was receiving new members on a daily basis.
According to him, the development is a sign post that things are getting better in the APC on daily basis with the determination of forming the next government in the state.
The former Alimoso Council Boss in Lagos State who is also a financier of the APC in the Federal Constituency, presented empowerment facilities estimated at N3 million to party stakeholders at the event while inaugurating his third round of empowerment programmes for the party.
He said the occasion, apart from receiving new members into the APC fold, was to mobilise delegates for the governorship primary election to be on the same page with the latest development on political affairs.
The APC chieftain described APC as an amalgamation of many political parties, stressing that there should be no founder or joiner.
His words: “We shall not discriminate against anybody on the basis of his or her old political affiliations. We are attracting more people into the party on a daily basis. We design this to signpost the vibrancy of the party and we are kickstarting the process that would lead us into winning the seat of government in Ondo State,” he noted.
Ilori adduced reasons why the APC was not ready to participate in the local government election because there was a pending case in the Supreme Court that has not been resolved.
Besides, the APC chieftain noted that Mimiko set up a committee on the creation of new local governments, which has remained ineffective without any report announced to the people of the state.
“We are ready for the Local Government election with quality candidates. We, however, are not ready to legitimise the planned Local Government selection by the Mimiko government when we know it is an effort in futility with the pendency of Ondo State Local Government administration matters with the Supreme Court.
“Why all these waste in Ondo State that is owing the highest number of months in outstanding salaries in SouthWest Nigeria?”
“How does a government that announced the commencement of the process of creating new Local Government Areas with funfair now suddenly go mute after dissipating millions of naira on the process only to turn round to be touting election into the existing councils? This is a fraud. One wonders if he plans to dissolve the elected councils after creating his new local government within the few months left in his administration. We don’t suffer such amnesia, our party will stand up to him on this” Ilori said.
He criticised how government resources were being expended without any visible human development.
Ilori urged the citizenry to work immediately to facilitate the removal of “manipulative government” presently in place in the Sunshine State.
The APC chairman in Ondo East, Mr Temitope Akintunde, appreciated the regular financial and moral support being rendered to the party by Ilori.
He described him as a good leader with pragmatic approach to political issues.
At the event were two APC governorship aspirants, Chiefs Jamiu Ekungba and Olusola Oke with other APC chieftains including the Ondo Central Senatorial Chairman, Prince Gboyega Adedipe who received new decampees into the APC on behalf of the state chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, Chief and Mrs Adewale Omojuwa, Mrs Bukola Tenabe, Mrs Kehinde Adeniran, Mr Ola Oladiji represenatives of Senator Ajayi Boroffice and Dr. Segun Abraham, among others.
