- The gale of defections in Nigeria's politics has reached Cross River state
- A member of the Cross River state House of Assembly, Bassey Akiba, has moved to the All Progressives Congress
- Akiba joins the party from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
The member representing Odukpani state constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Bassey Akiba, has dumped the PDP for the APC, The Nation reports.
According to the report, Akiba becomes the second state lawmaker to defect from the PDP to the APC in the 25-man House.
Akiba said his decision to defect was so that he could “re-position the district and also sustain and expand the dividends of democracy, which the local government and the state have so far benefited from the federal government.”
READ ALSO: How ‘Mama Taraba’ lost out on APC leadership
Akiba also said President Muhammadu Buhari has been magnanimous to Cross River in terms of projects and appointments, despite not getting a lot of votes in 2015 from the state, and called for more support in 2019.
Similarly, the immediate past senator of the southern senatorial district, Prince Bassey Otu, in an elaborate ceremony in Calabar declared his intention to go back to the upper house of the National Assembly on the platform of the APC.
Declaring his intention for the Senate, Otu said, “My legislative priorities remain the same to strive for ecological balance in our environment and empowerment of human capacity in our district to meet with contemporary challenges, building of an egalitarian society, where both the rich and the poor can live in harmony.
“If we fix all our challenges, adversities, defeats, frustrations and letdowns in a bottle and shake it very well and pour out all the contents, what will likely emerge is a psyche of a people denied their voice, bullied by political aggressors, mired in poverty, condemned by complacency and less informed about their rights to justice, liberty and prosperity.
“I trust your coming is to reaffirm that old sweet confidence we share that the sweet Prince will be there for you in sweetness and sorrow. I see in your eyes the burning desire to attack all deceits and hold on to the truth that you are everything democracy and everything democracy is you. I have come to awaken you to your rights to determine your fate with your votes.”
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Meanwhile, the national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, September 10, expressed confidence that the ruling party will do well in Taraba state during the 2019 general elections.
Oshiomhole made the comment while swearing-in Honourable Ibrahim El-Sudi as the Taraba state party chairman at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja.
He charged the El-Sudi-led harmonised Taraba executive to ensure participation of members and stakeholders, to ensure the party’s success at the forthcoming election.
Nigeria Latest News: Here's What Saraki and Tambuwal's Defection Means for the APC on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng
