21 Labour Party chairmen in Kogi LGAs join APC

The Labour Party chairmen in 21 local government areas of Kogi State defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with their supporters on Friday.

The defectors were received by the APC Chairman in the state, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello, at the Lugard House in Lokoja.

The leader of the defectors, Mr. Awe Kayode, said they collapsed their structure into the APC in order to support the party’s governorship candidate, Usman Ododo, in the November 11 governorship election in the state.

Kayode said the chairmen joined the APC when they realised the LP was no longer viable in the state.

He said: “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 Governor 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.

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“Indeed 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.”

Similarly, the LP Chairman for Bassa LGA, Jimba Emmanuel, noted that a political party was just a platform for power.

He added that good governance was about individuals passionate about development and attracting dividends of democracy to the people.

Jimba, who doubles as the Chairman of LP Chairmen Forum, said the party’s governorship candidate lacked the required quality, hence their decision to abandon “the sinking ship.”

“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 November 11.”

The state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, commended the “Obidient Movement” leader in Kogi, Awe Kayode, for his doggedness and mobilisation ability.

Jones said that the crowd seen at the forum was a testimony of the genuineness of their decision to join the progressives.

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