No fewer than 5000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the weekend defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Olusola Nenuwa, the leader of the defectors, said they decided to dump the APC because the ruling party had failed the people of the country.
Nenuwa said the President Muhammadu Buhari government had ruined the country’s economy in the last three and a half years, increasing the rate of unemployment and hunger.
He urged Nigerians to vote for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in 2019, adding that the former vice president had the capability to take the nation out of the its current situation.
Nenuwa, who was a member of the Rotimi Akeredolu campaign committee in 2016, promised that the new PDP members would work hard to mobilize support for all candidates of the party in the state in order to achieve victory.
“In 2015, we thought APC would change things for better, especially in the area of the economy. We thought President Buhari was the messiah we needed.
“But to our surprise, the country moved from pan to fire. Instead of changing our story to a better one, they have worsened the situation.
“There is suffering in the land and you can see a lot of crime everywhere because of the hunger in the land. They have said now that they will take us to the next level of suffering.
“We have decided to join the moving train of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. He has what it takes to deliver us in this country. He is one of the highest employers of labour in Nigeria. He knows how he will improve the economy,” he said.
Abiodun Omonijo, the Akure South PDP chairman, who received the new members on behalf of the state chairman, commended them for taking the decision.
Omonijo promised the defectors that they would be fully integrated into the party and allowed to enjoy equal rights with old members.
He said: “The APC is losing members to our party everyday, even including those with appointments in government. That has to tell you that people are no longer comfortable with the ruling party.
“There is hunger on the face of everybody. PDP is the only party that can give hope to Nigerians. Atiku is the answer. God has brought him this time to come and save Nigeria.”
