By Bukola Olamona
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Hundreds of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members on Sunday dumped the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The PDP members who were supporters of Adedayo Omolafe, a deceased member of the House of Representatives, said they left for APC because of the division within the ranks of their former party.
Receiving the defectors at Obanla in Akure, the Chairman of APC in the State, Ade Adetimehin said with the defection of hundreds of PDP members to APC, the opposition party has been crippled in the state.
Adetimehin said the PDP has gone into extinction and with the latest defection, noting that the end has come for the mainstream opposition in the state.
According to him, some former councillors, and chairmen who served in various local governments and formed the grassroots of the PDP have joined APC and with the latest defection, the State was gravitating towards a one-party state.
His words ” PDP is divided and you can see our party is united, that is the secret behind our success. In APC we are well united, if we were divided, we can’t stand. PDP is divided and we are recording this progress.
‘Sometimes I said PDP has gone into extinction, the party reacted sharply, but now the party has ended. If you have 157 councillors leaving your Party, it means a lot.
This ward is a seat of power of the opposition party in Akure South local government but look at them, many of the stakeholders of PDP are here now. These are not ordinary people, they are chieftains and they are not forced to join the party.
“We have been managing the party well. Some parties have collapsed because there is disagreement between the chairman and governors, but since I came on board, more members have been joining the party.
“We have more or less a one-party system in Ondo state now, we would use the advantage to the fullest. The next election in Ondo State will be a walkover for the APC.”
The defectors led by a former PDP Chieftain, Comrade Biodun Ajisegiri appreciated the effort of the party leader for accepting them.
Ajisegiri said the defectors have seen development in the APC and that attracted them. He said with the death of a former member of the House of Representatives who was their leader, they decided to seek political shelter in the APC.
