The Abia State chapter of All Progressive Congress, APC, has reacted to the reports of over 3,000 of its members decamping to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state.
APC, in statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Comrade Benedict C. Godson, described the reports which was published by online news blog (not Abacityblog) as nothing but ‘Tales By Moonlight.’
According to APC, Abia PDP under the leadership of Hon. Asiforo Okere should know that Politics is not a market square but an activity that involves leaders and followers.
The full statement read…
“The narration and report of stewardship given by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Hon. Asiforo Okere to the remaining unsettled members and leaders of their party that 3,000 members from the Progressives Congress (APC) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have decamped to the PDP is tantamount to TALES BY MOONLIGHT.
“Those who know much about Tales By Moonlight will not blame Hon. Asiforo Okere for adopting same dramatic and theatrical method to indirectly persuade and plead with the minds of the remaining uncomfortable members of the sinking PDP not to dump them.
“The way he mentioned more than 3,000 without mentioning their LGAs, wards, their positions in APC or APGA or at least names of some of their prominent leaders who are leading them into PDP sounds more like all those famous, funny, amusing stories, myths, folktale, folklore meant for the astonishment of the listener.
“Politics is not a market square. It’s an activity that involves leaders and followers. Whenever APC announce a defection into our party, we tell people about the leaders whose followers in any local government or ward have decided to move with into APC.
“This does not in anyway limit the powers of other persons who are not leaders in the party, because they have right to take decisions, but take it or you leave it, in every political movement, there must be leaders and there must be followers. That’s how it works.
“We challenge Hon. Asiforo Okere to give us names of prominent APC leaders that took their followers into PDP making up the fictitious, inexistent and ‘ghost-mode’ 3,000 persons he narrated about at Okpara Auditorium as comic relief to the tragedy already befalling the PDP.
“When Dr. Alex Otti, a strong force in APGA moved into APC with his followers it was clear, Also Hon. Emeka Atoma immediate past National Organizing Secretary of SDP, moved into APC with his followers. when Hon. Sam Onuigbo, Serving member federal house of Representatives for Ikwuano/Umuahia federal constituency moved into APC it wasn’t an amusing tale. Even the PDP felt the pain to the extent that they even protested against it.
“What about Chief Henry Ikoh, Obinna Oriaku, former Commissioners in PDP Govt.. Hon. Ugochukwu Allen and too many of important Abia Politicians. So, how can someone wake up, cook up a badly written kindergarten defection story and begin to sell it to the amusement of those who should know better?
“They know that National Assembly members and many State Assembly members from their party are gearing towards joining the APC. The PDP is a rickety capsizing ship and every politician who doesn’t want to drown with that it is happily coming out before it’s too late. Even when it’s late, we’ll still rescue some people because that’s normal.
“What Hon. Asiforo Okere said to his members in Umuahia was just an internal damage control that should not have been made open because it’s laughable and tantamount to self deceit that a party that’s shrinking and getting dismembered day by day is fabricating stories to comfort those who know better.
“They know they’re collapsing on weekly basis, they’re aware that pillars are removed from their foundation more often than ever, they’re very much of the knowledge that questions are beginning to arise and very soon, things will fall apart in the PDP and by then, Abians will see that their centre cannot hold.
