Ahead of the July 14 Governorship election in Edo State, over 1,500 Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members in Iguobazuwa, Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State, at the weekend dumped the party for the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP).
A former A C N chieftain, Mr. Imuetinya Igbinoba, described the exercise as serious and said, “What we are doing here today is defecting. It is not joke. We ran away from home, now we are back and as a Bini man, I am happy to return to the party that brought out our brothers.”
On his part, the PDP leader in the area, Emma Ogbomo, called on party supporters to ensure that Iguobazuwa remained a PDP stronghold and added that when Governor Adams Oshiomhole visited the area last week pledging to destroy PDP he was disappointed, as nobody was on ground to receive him.
Ogbomo said, “As I tell you here, we have several canopies under which are seated some of our people that went to join ACN before and original members of the A C N who are defecting to our party today; and they are over 1, 500 in number”.
State chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, while welcoming the new members, some of them wielding the traditional brooms of their soon to be abandoned party, described the occasion as a special one.
In his words,? “In the past two months we have been receiving ACN members joining PDP, but today, we have both A C N and former PDP members joining the PDP. We are very happy to receive you.
“It is also unique that what we are doing today is happening not in Esan (Edo Central) and not in Edo North, but in Edo South, where for the first time, myself and the governor to-be (Charles Airhiavbere) are jointly welcoming new members into our party.
Orbih added that “The people of Edo South must take advantage of its numerical strength, which is more than those of Edo North and Edo Central combined, to oust the Adams Oshiomhole administration”.
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