The Labour Party (LP) in Kogi State on Friday suffered a setback as all its 21 native authorities space chairmen defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The chairmen defected to the ruling APC with scores of their supporters.
NAN studies that they have been acquired by the state APC chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello, on the Lugard House, Lokoja.
The chief of the defectors, Mr Awe Kayode, stated that they determined to break down their construction into APC so as to help the party’s governorship candidate, Usman Ododo, within the forthcoming Nov. 11 governorship ballot.
Kayode additionally stated that their defection turned crucial once they realised that LP was not viable within the state.
“Another reason for our defection is our conviction that the APC candidate, Usman Ododo, has shown that he is a unifier whose nationalist qualities are needed to consolidate on the achievements of Gov Yahaya Bello.
“I was in APC before I left to join the Labour Party. I am back today with more people and we are ready to add value. LP got more than 76,000 votes in the last presidential election; we still have the same people who worked to achieve that feat.
“The state belongs to all of us and we have decided to jettison ethnic or religious agenda to support the candidate of APC who promotes the Kogi Agenda.
“Indeed, the Labour Party structure in the state was a formidable one that delivered massive votes to the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, without inducement or support, but we want to do the same to APC and Ododo this time around,” he stated.
Kayode added that their determination to break down the LP construction into APC was to affix forces with the progressives to actualise the Kogi Agenda which sought to additional unite the folks and guarantee even improvement throughout board.
Similarly, the LP chairman for Bassa LGA, who doubles as the chairman of LP Chairmen Forum, Jimba Emmanuel, famous {that a} political party was only a platform to energy.
He added that good governance was about people captivated with improvement and attracting dividends of democracy to the folks.
He stated that the governorship candidate of LP lacked the required high quality, therefore their determination to desert “the sinking ship.”
According to him: “I and my colleagues here have agreed to mobilise all our structures across the 21 local government areas to deliver massive votes for the APC candidate come Nov. 11.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, commended the leader of the “Obidient Movement” in Kogi, Awe Kayode, for his doggedness and mobilisation potential.
Jones stated that the gang seen was an affidavit of the genuineness of their determination to affix the progressives.
He urged the defectors to affix forces in canvassing and mobilising for the victory of the APC governorship candidate to make sure sustainability and consolidation of the features made by Yahaya Bello’s administration.
Receiving the defectors, the Kogi APC Chairman, Abdullahi Bello, stated, “APC is a party that believes in development, equality and has a good reward system.”
