by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
JOS – Over 23,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have returned to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State.
The decampees were received into the party by National Chairman of PDP, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, was in Jos on Thursday, while flagging-off of the Jos North/Bassa Federal House of Representatives and Pankshin South State House of Assembly, which is scheduled to take place Saturday, 26th February, 2022.
Sen. Ayu charged the erstwhile APC members, the people of Plateau and, especially APC States in the country, to join the PDP so that they will not be left in the opposition APC after 2023. He was optimistic that “PDP will form the next Central Government in 2023, and the next President of the Federal Government of Nigeria will be from PDP.”
The PDP National Chairman stated that, he doesn’t want the People’s Democratic Party in the State to take a perpetual back-seat of Opposition Party, and urged members of the party to go back to their wards to mobilize, register and get there PVCs.
He was confident that, “Nobody is going to rig the next election, because the arrangement is different. That is why APC doesn’t want to sign the Electoral Act. They are delaying us because they don’t want to hand over.”
Sen. Ayu further stated that, the President must sign the Electoral Act immediately, because that is the only thing that will make it impossible for them to rig, saying, “APC is a political party that cannot hold conversation; it’s not organized and a party that is not ready to develop.
“APC cannot solve the problem of Nigeria; that is why there is hunger, poverty, killing, and there is division, crime, no employment for the youths because the economy is not expanding. PDP is not the party to solve the problem of Nigeria,” Sen Ayu stated. While also calling on the PDP leaders in the state and Nigeria at large to be united, he stressed that, “It’s the only strength the party has to win election in 2023.”
He said, the party is working hard to bring back its over 50,000 members, who were angry and left; and expressed his joy and happiness for those, who have returned back to the party, and assured that they are going to win the by-election for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency and Pankshin South State House of Assembly.
Speaking also, former Governor of the State, Sen. Jonah David Jang, observed that, “Nigerians are tired of the deceits of the APC and are ready to dethrone them in 2023.”
Sen Jang urged all members of the party in Jos North, Bassa and Pankshin to come out enmass to vote for PDP during the Saturday bye-election, saying, “Those has come back are not be called ‘decamping’ but rather they traveled and are back home. You will not know a good wife except when you bring a new one,” he noted.
The former gubernatorial candidate of the party in 2019-cum former Minister of FCT, Gen. Jeremiah Useni (rtd), asserted that, “With unity, nothing will stop PDP from winning election on Plateau and Nigeria.”
Leader of the Great Movement and former State Chairman of the APC, Hon. Latep Dabang, who led over 23,000 people who defected to the party, described APC as a “confused political party.”
Hon. Dabang then begged Plateau people to forgive him for misleading them into voting for APC in 2015 and 2019, and urged them to return to PDP “where there is peace, justice and fairness,” and vowed to mobilize his loyalists in the APC to join forces with the PDP and dethrone APC in 2023.
Earlier, the State Chairman of PDP in the State, Hon. Chris Hassan, said the Jos North/Bassa by-election would serve as litmus test for the 2023 elections, and encouraged PDP supporters in the state to come out enmass and vote massively for PDP in Jos North/Bass and Pankshin South on Saturday.
Hon. Dabang expressed happiness over the unity and peace currently experiencing in the PDP, and urged the great leaders and members of the party to sustain it “for landslide victory” in all elections.
