Former Delta State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Chief Great Ogboru, and former Delta State House of Assembly Speaker Victor Ochei yesterday formerly defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
The defection ended months of speculations about their political future.
Also, there were signals yesterday that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, may also be on his return journey to the APC.
Ogboru and Ochei, along with their supporters and members in the LP and Accord Party as well as some leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Delta State, were formally presented to APC’s national leadership by the party’s governorship aspirant, Olorogun Ortega Emehor and the state’s Chairman Prophet Jones Erue.
Receiving the defectors, APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, noted that with their entry into the party, it was sure to win in Delta State in 2019.
The national chairman was elated by the unity among the party’s leadership in the state.
Ogboru pledged to ensure the success of the Muhammadu Buhari administration and transform the state.
Blaming 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the rot in Nigeria and Delta State, Odigie-Oyegun expressed optimism that APC would upstage the Ifeanyi Okowa administration in Delta State in 2019.
He said: “I am not here because I want to be with any government in power. My mission is similar to that of Mr President. We have always had a lot in common. We have always been agents of change. Mr President is the kind of person we want to identity with and that is why I joined the APC.
“I am in full support of his resolve to reorient our values for the better. I am in support of his anti-corruption posture. We shall not tolerate corruption in Delta State. The 16 years of PDP were a waste at the state and at the centre.”
Odigie-Oyegun, who described the development as one of the happiest moments of his life, said Ogboru was a member of the APC who chose to take his time to join the league of progressives in the party.
APC’s Deputy National Chairman Segun Oni said democracy would not survive without an overwhelming membership.
The former Ekiti State governor said the party’s leadership would work with all stakeholders to ensure a successful membership drive in Delta and other states.
Emehor said APC’s challenges in the state would have reduced, if it had won the last governorship election.
But the party chieftain said the good news was that with the entrance of Ogboru and others, APC was well positioned for the 2019 governorship election in Delta State.
Ochei said he was glad to join the APC, adding that there was no trick the PDP could play to rob the APC of victory in Delta State.
The former speaker sought members’ cooperation to ensure the party’s progress.
Also, the National Chairman of Coalition for Peace and Mobilisation (NACOPEAM) called for the return of erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to the APC.
The group’s National President Ahmed Saleh said the members had been mounting pressure on Ribadu to team up with President Buhari in his anti-corruption fight.
Addressing reporters in Abuja, Ahmed said NACOPEAM would embark on a door-to-door mobilisation of party members as well as non-members, whose contributions would be beneficial to the Buhari administration to prevail on Ribadu to return to the APC.
He said: “With the agenda of this government, party members who left in anger or were misled into leaving in the run-up to the election in 2015 would be asked to return. We feel there are resourceful and sincere individuals who were with us in this struggle, that we should work with in getting back to our fold.
“With the agenda of this government of ensuring probity, fighting corruption and ensuring that all those who feast on our commonwealth are made to return it, we feel people like Malam Ribadu are needed.
“It is not far-fetched that with his experience and integrity as an incorruptible anti-corruption czar with global connection, his experience will be of much value to this government which has the war against corruption as its prime goal.
“I mention someone like Ribadu because I remember when $15 million was brought to him in an attempt to bribe him. How many people can resist such a temptation in this present day?
“Today, former Delta State Governor James Ibori is in jail (in the United Kingdom) partly due to his efforts. Look at what is going on today: whenever they arrest a particular person for allegations of corruption, they begin to complain and politicise the issue. This, to me, is unnecessary and uncalled for.”
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