*Says ‘APGA is the first progressive party in Nigeria’
Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State says it took him a year to decide to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2013.
Soludo disclosed this on Wednesday in Awka while welcoming 15,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra, who defected to APGA.
He said: “The first political party I joined was the PDP and I was the flag bearer in the 2010 governorship election in Anambra. During that time, I worked with many of you.
“It took me one year to take the decision to join APGA in 2013 and when I joined, they disqualified me as governorship candidate but I persisted because I knew it was my last bus stop.
“Today, I am a governor and the national leader of APGA. APGA is the first progressive party in Nigeria, registered in 2002.
“It is not just a political party but a movement in Anambra, where everybody is equal and no one is left behind.”
Soludo encouraged the new party members to register at the ward level to finalise their APGA membership and also be part of the party’s cooperative designed to empower its members.
Earlier, the State Chairman of APGA, Mr Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, welcomed and formally admitted the new members.
He also commended the governor for his leadership style, which had drawn members from other political parties to join APGA.
Mr Chukwudi Umeaba, the former state Chairman, PDP, who spoke on behalf of the former PDP members, stated that their decision to join the APGA movement was driven by governor Soludo’s people-oriented policies and initiatives.
“We decided to collapse PDP into APGA to join the winning team. Our goal is to support the governor in fulfilling his agenda for the development of Anambra,” he said.
