No fewer than four hundred members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, yesterday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the forthcoming 2023 presidential election.
This was, as the defectors, who were led by Raji Kolawole, drummed support for the candidature of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general elections.
The defection of the APC members into PDP was consequent upon what they described as the unending deceit and deception within the party which they said, has not only continued to cause more harm to their personal development as politicians than good but also dangerous for the entrenchment of internal democracy within a political party.
Receiving the defectors into the PDP fold, the Coordinator for Atiku/Okowa Support Movement in the state, Mayoress Olubukola Olayinka, said the work that lies ahead is beyond anybody’s personal interest, stressing that 2023 is all about rescuing Nigeria for Nigerians.
In her address, Mayoress Olayinka maintained that Atiku Abubakar’s Presidency for 2023 was like a moving train whose time has come.
She added that the momentum which is consistently gathering in favour of Alhaji Abubakar within the political landscape must be sustained.
Olayinka said the momentum was evident in the defection of over four hundred card carrying APC members in the state into the PDP with the primary aim of lending their support towards the actualization of the ‘Atiku/Okowa’s’ PDP presidency.
She said: “Their defection is hinged on the spate of untold hardship, insecurity, economic woes, high-handedness, nepotism, and insensitivity to the plight and yearnings of citizens that have characterized the government of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the choice of the APC to field anither presidential candidate who’s health condition may plunge Nigeria into another round of medical tourism.”
“There is also rededication of many members of our party, PDP, across all 33 Local Government Areas in Oyo state to the presidential project of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar having realized he is the only politician among all the presidential candidates with a nationalistic disposition to unify Nigeria and deliver the nation from the edge of total collapse that the APC government has led helplessly Nigerians.”
“Let me make this unequivocally clear at this point, that Oyo state is fully committed to the actualization of Atiku Abubakar’s presidential project and we shall commit every drop of our sweat, resources, energy, and time as well as everything humanly possible to ensure he emerges as Nigeria’s next president come 2023,” Mayoress Olayinka said.
Earlier, leader of the APC defectors, Raji Akeem from Ibadan South East Local Government, said: “We are from APC and we decided to join PDP because APC has failed us because they care only about themselves and not Nigerians.”
Asked what he implied by the statement, Akeem said: “They don’t care about the people in APC as you can all see in the detoriating cost of existing as humans beings in Nigeria of today. We all know how the APC met this nation in 2015 and we are all witnesses to where we are today so, 2023 is all about taking back our Nigeria from them and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is the only hope on this rescue mission.”
“That is why we decided to come back and join them in PDP. Although we started out as PDP members since 1998 prior to the 1999 election, we left in 2016 to join the APC but we have decided to come back home through Mayoress Olayinka because APC has neither benefited us as politicians or Nigerians as a people.”
“After Mayoress Olayinka talked to us to return home, we felt this is a woman of great value and pedigree in terms of leadership and integrity. Actually we have been together for about 30 years so she’s is a leader we can trust to follow her lead in ensuring that Atiku Abubakar emerges our next president come 2023 by the special grace of Allah.”
Coordinators for the Coalition for Atiku/Okowa Support Movement from Ogun, Ondo, Chief (Mrs.) Oludotun Alani and Adegboyega, as well as a PDP stalwart from Egbeda, Barrister Oladapo Olayinka in their separate remarks, vowed to embark on aggressive grassroots mobilisation for Atiku, maintaining that there was no going back on their mission.
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