Edo APC battling to keep its members intact

By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has in the last few days been plagued with defections and threats of defection the latest being philanthropist, Ken Imansuagbon who last week went back to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) citing alleged failure of the APC to meet the aspirations of the people.

Before this was the rumoured plan by the House of Representatives Deputy Chief, Pally Iriase to dump the APC. He has however come out to strongly deny the rumour.

Before the Imansuagbon defection, a former chairman of the now defunct War Against Indiscipline under the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole administration, David Olukoga defected sighting abandonment of party leaders by the current administration of Mr Godwin Obaseki. He is seen as one of the influential foot soldiers of the APC.

The recent defection of Imansuagbon is giving concern to some leaders of the party as they feared more prominent members could leave.

Announcing his defection at the party secretariat where he was received by chieftains of the PDP, Imansuagbon popularly called rice man because of his yearly distribution of rice said he felt he “should join other good thinking Nigerians to fight and save our democracy from the hands of marauders, the country is sick and tired of the APC government. A government that has no conscience, a government that does not feel the pains and aguish of the poor masses, a government where innocent souls are being killed without positive response from the government, a country where people could operate with so much impunity and recklessness yet those that has the mantle of leadership close their eyes to it.”

Continuing he said “If you look at the faces of Nigerians, what you see is tears, pains and bitterness. Parent’s ca no longer pay children’s school fees, people are dying every day ue to the failure of our leaders to provide the basic health facilities to take care of the sick. Millions of Nigerian youths on the streets no job, there is so much suffering in the land. So I think I have made a good decision at this time to join the PDP moving train as we approach 2019 elections.”

He said he was confident PDP would win the presidential election in 2019. “I tell you that the PDP haasa very great chance of taking over Aso Rock. Nigerians have tested the APC government; they have seen that they have nothing to offer, so they are very much prepare to vote them out of office in 2019. You see the PDP membership card in my hands, and I using this card to give APC government both at Federal and state level a quit notice. Come 2020 in Edo State, PDP will regain her stolen mandate.”

On why he left the APC again which some see as he not being politically stable, he told journalist “Politics all about interest, I went to APC thinking that they will be able to give the required change the people wanted. I joined them hoping that it is a party that can liberate the people from their sufferings, I joined them thinking that is a party that have can provide the basics things of life for the people. But I have discovered that they do not have what it takes to transform a volatile and the most populous Black Country in the ward. In 2015, I did said to former President Goodluck Jonathan that Nigerians will vote him out office, they thought I was joking, but today all that is history. So today in Benin I’m saying it again that come 2019, Nigerians will vote out the APC government.” He was not defecting because he wants to contest for any political office.

However, a leader of the APC in the state who does not want his name to be mentioned when asked whether the party is not worried with spate of defection, he said “Inasmuch as no party leader will want to lose his members, you cannot also force those who want to leave from leaving. but I am aware the leadership of the party has been meeting with those who are feeling aggrieved and we believe some of them will come back to us”

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/10/edo-apc-battling-to-keep-its-members-intact/