More details have emerged from Ebonyi Governor, Dave Umahi’s meeting with the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the Governor’s planned defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
An APC chieftain in Ebonyi, Elias Mbam spoke with newsmen on Monday in Abakaliki on the outcome of the meeting.
Umahi and some APC leaders met on Sunday in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi.
Mbam, Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), noted that Umahi’s defection to the APC would benefit the South-East.
He declared that the region had nothing to show for its support for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999.
“The major stakeholders in our party met with the governor, and he told us why he wanted to leave his party for the APC. Part of the reasons was the need for South East to be part of the government at the centre.
“He stressed the need for the zone to collaborate with the North and that if we do that, we will be able to get what we have not been able to get since 1999.
“Since 1999, PDP has been in control in Ebonyi and other states in South East, yet the party has not found one person worthy of flying its flag and we don’t even have any hope that it would happen soon,” the RMAFC said.
Mbam stressed that Ebonyi needed to join the ruling party in order to be where major decisions were being taken.
He added that Umahi’s defection to the APC would further strengthen the platform and help Ebonyi retain the governorship seat in 2023.
The New Diplomat reported on Sunday that while Umahi is on his way to the APC, his Enugu state counterpart, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is also weighing the option of joining the ruling party as high-level talks continue over the moves.
The ramifications of this political move by the two governors are dire for the Southeast PDP that has been the bastion of the party since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999 as the action is currently causing serious uproar among the party’s faithfuls in the region.
Should the Governors port to APC, a gale of defections is imminent in the Southeast PDP, something that could potentially alter projections for the 2023 presidency in the coming days and months.
