Ebonyi: LP, APGA collapse into APC as Oyegun, Onu receive decampees

Over 20,000 members of Labour Party, LP, the All Progressives Congress Grand Alliance, APGA, and a large chunk of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, on Saturday defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, during a rally to celebrate the victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the just concluded presidential election.
They are mainly Governor Elechi’s loyalists who had defected from PDP to LP following the crisis that broke out in the party as a result of the party’s primaries most of whom are serving appointees under Elechi’s government.
The decampees included eleven out of the thirteen local government caretaker committee chairmen; a factional Chairman of PDP, Hon. Ben Akpa; a governorship aspirant of the party and former Commissioner for Works, Transport and Environment, Dr. Paul Okorie; the suspended youth leader of PDP, Comrade Chinedu Ogah OON; Ebonyi South chairman of PDP, Hon Walter Akpa.
Others are, APGA House of Reps Candidate for Ebonyi/Ohaukwu Federal Constituency in the general election; Hon. Nwannne Ominyi, his LP counterpart Hon. Bede Nwali; two House of Assembly members in the state, Hon. Oliver Nwachukwu and Lilian Igwe; LP and APGA House of Assembly candidates during the general elections, members of the Ebonyi Youth and Women Assembly among others.
The APGA decampees were led into the APC by the governorship candidate of the party in the 2015 general election, Sen. Anthony Agbo whereas the Caretaker Chairman of Afikpo North LGA, Hon. Tony Ekoh and Board of Trustee Chairman of Ebonyi Youth Assembly, Comrade Chinedu Ogah led LP and PDP members into APC respectively.
Speaking on behalf of the decampees, Comrade Ogah said they had no option than to join the national leader of APC and former governor of old Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu who happens to be a great father of Ebonyi state in moving Nigeria forward.
He described Onu as detribalized Nigerian who have an accommodating spirit and deserved the support of his people adding that they decided to throw their weights behind him in order to continue to contribute his best to the development of the country.
Others who spoke on behalf of the decampees including Senator Agbo and Pharmacist Ekoh harped on the need to give Dr. Onu the desired support he deserved from his home state as the main reason for the mass defection to APC; just as they appealed to the party to carry them along in the scheme of things.
Receiving the decampees, the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun likened the APC as a Church with a perfect man of God which he said was the reason why people from other political parties are trooping into the party and commended the decampees for joining the party.
Represented by the national vice chairman of the party in the South East, Emma Enukwu, the national chairman called on the decampees to rally round Onu to position the party in the South East to ensure it emerges victorious in 2019 elections.
He said, “We must come together and rally round our leader in the state, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu to deliver Ebonyi to APC in 2019. APC has come to change Nigeria for good, it is not promising. PDP makes promises; APC keeps promises and will be known for action.
“APC is a party for everybody not for the few. If you come in, you will be treated as a brother or sister, no discrimination. You can’t see Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu anywhere there is discrimination because he is a true Christian who does not discriminate and that is why you see him in APC. He initiated the merger that led to the formation of this great party.
“Everybody should come let us stick together so that we can get our dues because after Buhari have done his second term, Presidency will move to the South East and Onu is in a better position to become a president after Buhari’s regime and this is the time for us to start preparing for it.”
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu assured the decampees that they would be treated fairly and carried along in the scheme of things as according him, the leadership of the party has the intention of making it stronger.