The Abia State chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Hon. Chidi Nwosu and the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Umuahia South constituency seat during 2019 election, Mr. Uchenna Uwaezuoke, have dumped the party for the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).
Others that cross-carpeted to APC, alongside them included, the Labour Party (LP) candidate for Umuahia South state constituency seat during the last poll, Mrs. Blessing Ugbo and the Deputy Publicity Secretary of SDP in Abia, Chief Chris Eluwa.
Addressing APC leaders and stakeholders during the declaration ceremony held in Umuahia, the state capital, the leader of the decampees, Hon. Chidi Nwosu, explained that he and teeming SDP members and supporters were leaving SDP over the irresolvable crisis bedeviling the national leadership, which he attributed to, the outcome of the 2018 presidential primaries of the party.
According to Nwosu, “I am a change agent. And my principle and policy is whatever thing that will enhance the quality of mankind and my people, I will do. The inception of SDP, it was my belief that the party(SDP) is going to strive on ideological base, unfortunately, the rancour during the presidential nomination proved me wrong.
“And as a determined follower, I had to stay until the 2019 general election went. It is also time for us to abreast what we had done in the past, bringing it to the present, and what we anticipate for the future.
“APC is ideological based. It does appear to me that the policies of the party is people-oriented, notwithstanding hard time people are having. But in a short while, all Nigerians will understand and appreciate what it has taken to effect the change.
“We also believe that the corruption pursuit of the APC as a party and as a government-led by President Muhammadu Buhari is achieving ground”.
Speaking, Uwaezuoke decried the infrastructural deficits in Abia state, berating the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration in the state for failing to provide the dividends of democracy to the people of Abia.
In his speech while welcoming the defectors, Mr. Ugochukwu Ibeku, the Umuahia south local government area chairman of the APC, urged the new party members to render their support to the leadership of the party and boasted that the party was ready and repositioned to form the next government in Abia come 2023.
He also advised the decampees to abide by the APC constitution and desist from acts that could constitute anti party activities, so as to avoid the sledge hammer of the APC being hit on them.