Akwa Ibom: Opposition parties carpet PDP over claims of 37,874 defectors

Opposition political parties in Akwa Ibom have brought the ruling party in the state to cleaners over claims that they have collapsed their structures for the ruling party in the state following the defection of their members to the party.

According to them, the humongous figures of 37,874 defectors given by the PDP were not only outlandish and misleading but also intended to score cheap political points.

Recall that the PDP, in an event held penultimate week at the Ibom Hall Grounds Uyo, the state capital, claimed that opposition political parties in the state have all joined its party, a claim that has disputed by the opposition parties

In a reaction at the weekend, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Young People’s Party (YPP) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), among others, said the figure presented by the PDP was outrageous.

The state chairman of the YPP, Mr Wisdom Udoka, said the party was still intact in Akwa Ibom, despite the claim by the PDP that members of the party had all defected to the PDP.

“Such a thing did not happen because about three canopies were in the Ibom Hall Grounds, so YPP in Akwa Ibom is intact. I am the state chairman, and my secretary is there, as is the spokesperson of the party. My executive is intact.

“I have my chapter chairmen and every ward chairmen. The few members that defected before are begging to come back now, so what the PDP is claiming is outright falsehood.

“People went to collect money. Things are too tough. Most defectors who claim to be members of the YPP are not our members, so I debunk the falsehood that the YPP has collapsed into the PDP,”  Udoka said.

Similarly, the APC said its members were still intact and denied that hundreds of them had moved to the PDP.

State Publicity Secretary of the APC, OtoAbasi Udo, said, “The PDP is shopping for members by all means; hence, it is inflating the figures of those who have defected to it’s party.

“There is no way members of the APC can leave the party in droves because our party is at the centre and the leaders of the party in the state are strengthening the party.

“We are preparing to take over the state by 2027, and the signs are there. It is fear of the APC that is making the PDP  make outrageous claims, so it is not true that hundreds of our members have defected to the PDP.

“What you saw at the Ibom Hall Grounds was just a jamboree of decent and grandstanding. Akwa Ibom people should not be  deceived,” he said.

At another ceremony, the PDP  claimed 43,000 YPP members had defected to join its ranks.

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