From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state that over 3,000 of APC and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), have joined its fold.
A statement by APC Publicity Secretary, Benedict Godson, said the report of stewardship given by the PDP Chairman, Asiforo Okere, that 3,000 APC and APGA members from the state, have joined its fold, was simply ‘tales by moonlight’.
“Politics is not a market square. It’s an activity that involves leaders and followers. Whenever APC announces a defection into our party, we tell people about the leaders whose followers in any local government or ward have decided to move with into APC.
“This does not, in anyway, limit the powers of other persons who are not leaders in the party, because they have right to take decisions, but take it or leave it, in every political movement, there must be leaders and followers. That’s how it works.
“We challenge Okere to give us names of prominent APC leaders that took their followers into PDP making up the fictitious, inexistent and ‘ghost-mode’ 3,000 persons he narrated about at Okpara Auditorium as comic relief to the tragedy already befalling the PDP.
“When Alex Otti, a strong force in APGA moved into APC with his followers, it was clear. Also when Emeka Atoma, immediate past SDP national organising secretary, moved into APC with his followers and when Sam Onuigbo, former PDP serving member of the House of Representatives for Ikwuano/Umuahia federal constituency, moved into APC, it wasn’t an amusing tale. Even the PDP felt the pain to the extent that they protested it.”
3000 alleged defected members was insignificant to election process and election result so the often media war between APC and PDP on defected peoples from other political party absolutely confirmed the political culture of Nigeria as not only barbaric but demonstrate foolishness of the high order. Obviously political party formation in Nigeria was undemocratic in all ramifications that uphold principles of democratic doctrine’s where its constitution, motto and ideology would be what its members beliefs as well followers but political parties were mere business enterprises which neither patriotism nor party ideology drives its activities only how to make money therefore the often war of defected peoples which many of them didn’t have voters card while many could not even know how to cast their vote tell the whole world that those parties fighting over futility are themselves not morally and constitutionally qualified to be called a political parties