THE camps of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) on Tuesday suffered a major setback as about 5,000 members of the two parties joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Idanre, headquarters of Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo state.
About 3,000 members of the APC from the local government dumped the party while over 2,000 members of the ZLP defected to the PDP, citing lack of internal democracy within the parties as one of the reasons for dumping their parties.
Most of the decampees from APC expressed their disdain over alleged lawlessness, recklessness and many lies laced with deceit.
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The leader of the APC decampee, Mr Lanre Oluranakinse, explained that most of the members who defected from the APC worked for the emergence of the party in the state but were sidelined by the leadership of the party.
According to him, “APC is just like an occultic group. Since the coming of Akeredolu as the state governor, many of us who joined the party were not integrated into the party while the party has been unduly factionalised.
The last primaries election of the party in Idanre local government produced three candidates from three different factions with the party not attending to the crisis. The politics of the party is dirty, oppressive, dictatorial and meant for some selfish few.
The party brought hunger and hardship to the people of the state. Parents are now paying through their nose for their children in the state tertiary institutions.
Also speaking, the leader of the ZLP in the area, Eric Famakin, said they decided to dump the party to join forces with the PDP to install credible leadership in the country.
He noted that there was nothing to show for government presence of government in the state, saying “there is no tangible development in the state in the last two years and there is no programme for the people of the state.”
He however pledged the willingness of all decampees to work hard for the success of the PDP in the state.
The Chairman of the party in the state, Clement Fanoyede, who was represented by the chairman of the party in the local government, Mr. Bolu Ogunmolu, assured all the new decampee that the PDP will provide a level playing ground for the new members, adding that the doors of the PDP are always open to those who desire to join.
“We will work together as a team and as a family. There is no discrimination here, let’s work together as a team and I am assuring you that you will all be accommodated.”
The PDP candidate for the House of Representatives, Hon Kayode Akinmade, described the defection of the new members as a welcome development, saying the defection showed the growing popularity of the party in the state.
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