Former Senate President Pius Anyim and ex-gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Obinna Ogba, have dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), defected alongside a former senator and PDP governorship candidate in the 2023 election, Ogba, and that of the Labour Party (LP), Edward Nkwegu.
The former Senate President’s supporters also defected to the APC during the grand finale of the party’s campaign for the Local Government Area elections in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
Some former members of the National and State Assemblies as well as former Local Government Area Chairmen, among others, also defected to the APC.
Speaking at the event, Anyim said Ebonyi State had always been a single political family and the massive defection of opposition members to the party attested to such fact.
The former Senate President said his intention to join the APC had been hatched for long as remarked by Minister of Works David Umahi.
He said: “The time I wanted this to happen, Umahi was not ready and the time, he wanted it, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted.
Suspension: I proudly supported APC guber candidate in Ebonyi — Anyim
“We, however, thank God that it has worked smoothly as we all are presently under the same roof.”
The former SGF stated that the defection was not just about him but the people of Ebonyi State, saying consultations were widely made before a final resolution was taken.
Anyim added: “We wanted to appreciate Governor Francis Nwifuru’s great works and reconciling various political divides of the state, making them stay under one roof.
“We are aware of the enormous economic and socio-cultural challenges confronting the country and the need to patriotically support President Bola Tinubu to surmount the challenges.
“We intend to collaborate with all federal appointees from the state, especially the Minister of Works, Umahi to support and step down President Tinubu’s life-uplifting policies to Ebonyi people.”
The APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, commended Nwifuru for sustaining his predecessor’s ideals of enlarging the APC in the state and the South-East geo-political zone.
Nwifuru, on his part, commended the decampees for their decision to join the APC and assured that they would be adequately accommodated in the party.
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