2023 Kogi Guber: Prominent PDP stalwarts, thousands of supporters defect to APC.
IDRIS AHMED, LOKOJA.
As the campaigns for the November Governorship election in Kogi state gets tougher, prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Central Senatorial district alongside thousands of supporters on Saturday defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr A K Bello who was a two terms member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led the defectors on a visit to the Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to denounce their party.
Global Times Nigeria reports that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has received more People’s Democratic Party (PDP) defectors into the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the struggle for the Lugard House intensifies.
The defectors, led by Mr A. K. Salihu, a former two-term House of Representatives member, Other prominent PDP leaders on the defectors delegation include, Mr Udu Malik, former Local Government Council Caretaker Committee Chairman of Okehi local government area, are all from Okehi LGA of the state and Mr Haruna Yusuf who served as Aide de Camp to Adams Oshiomole when he was Edo state Governor.
Also included on the delegation, was the reknown spokesman of the PDP in the Central Senatorial district of the state, Mr Austin Ochu among others.
A statement issued on Sunday in Lokoja by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Onogwu Mohammed, said the defectors expressed their support for the APC Governorship Candidate, Alhaji Usman Ododo for the November 11 election.
Leader of the decamped PDP members, A K Salihu, who spoke on behalf of the group, praised Bello for his developmental efforts, particularly in securing the lives and livelihoods of the people in the state.
He said that their decision to align with the APC was a testament to the administration’s people-oriented policies and internal democracy that exists in the party as well as providing critical infrastructure to the citizens.
The group assured the governor of their full support for Ododo and their commitment to securing victory for the APC in the upcoming election.
Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello commended them for joining the APC and expressed confidence that their support would be an icing on the cake for the APC’s victory in the November elections.
The governor assured them of equal opportunities with old members of the party, emphasizing that the November, 11 governorship election will be about the future of the state.
Bello urged the group to campaign across the three senatorial districts to ensure a strong victory for the party and its flagbearer, Ahmed Usman Ododo.
