Six Labour Party members of the Enugu House of Assembly have officially defected to the Peoples Democratic Party.
They made their defection known on Thursday in Enugu in a letter read by the speaker, Uche Ugwu, during plenary.
The defectors include the majority leader, Johnson Ani (Enugu North), the chief whip, Ejike Eze (Igbo-Eze North I), and the deputy chief whip, Princess Ugwu (Enugu South Rural). Others are Pius Ezugwu (Nsukka East), Williams Amuka (Igbo-Etiti West) and Osita Eze (Oji River).
In the letter, the defectors said their defection was due to irreconcilable division and incessant crisis within the labour party at the national level and across all the state chapters.
They regretted that the party had evolved into perpetual discord, with various factions embroiled in legal battles, which undermined its ability to effectively serve the people’s interests.
According to them, the Labour Party, once considered a beacon of hope for progressive ideas, has regrettably become synonymous with internal squabbles, thereby reducing its capacity to fulfil the aspirations of electorates.
They cited the cases of Julius Abure, Lamidi Apapa factions, and the national treasurer as some of the party’s divisions. The legislators hoped that the PDP would give them the platform to continue serving their people’s interests and thanked the Labour Party leadership for their support.
The defectors also acknowledge that they sent the letters to the speaker’s office and added that they would work wholeheartedly for the progress of their new party in Enugu.
The speaker welcomed the defectors into the PDP and promised that they would be carried along in the legislative activities of the parliament.
With the defection, the PDP now has the majority in the parliament with 17 members, while the Labour Party has six members.
(NAN)
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