Former governorship aspirant of All Progressives Congress (APC) with the two former aides to Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, led about 2,000 members of APC members to join the opposition PDP in a crowded ceremony held at Okpoga, headquarters of Okpokwu local government area of the state on Monday.
The leaders who defected include; former senior special assistant to governor Samuel Ortom on Youth mobilization, Hon Anthony Ada popularly known as ‘Tony Trigger’, former special assistant to governor on legal matters and ex caretaker chairman of Okpokwu local government under APC, Barrister Chris Idu as well as Hellen Ode, a gubernatorial aspirant under APC in 2015.
Former minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro who presented the defectors to the state party chairman, explained that the returnees had discovered that they were deceived to join the ruling party.
“During the rerun election in this senatorial district,(Benue south senatorial district)Â I had told the people who defected then, those I always refer to as ‘food is ready politician’Â that they were being deceived to leave PDP to join the ruling party.”
“But today they have discovered that the party in power is deceitful, all eyes have seen it with the manner the people of the state have been impoverished and they have decided to leave the comfort zone to come back to suffering zone so that we can all struggle for our tomorrow.”
The state chairman of PDP, Honourable John Ngbede who received the returnees said, ‘it is good these people realized their mistakes and have retraced their steps back to PDP.’
Ngbede noted that they have become PDP family and promised that the party would not discriminate against them.
Anthony Ada, one of the former aides, while speaking at the ceremony likened their move to the biblical prodigal son who after fruitless steps went back to his root.
In a swift reaction to the development, the state chairman of All Progressive Congress, APC, Hon. Abba Yaro described the defectors as a bunch of irrelevant people who cannot affect the success of APC in 2019.
“They are a bunch of irrelevant people, some of them were chairmen of local government council, they were all in PDP, so let them go back,” Yaro concluded.
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