Over 600 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party in Igbanke East and West, as well as Abiokunla Ward I and II in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday.
The defectors, led by their leaders, were welcomed into the PDP by the state Chairman, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi. He remarked that the defectors had been “in darkness for a long time,” but have now “seen the light” and decided to join the PDP. He urged them to work hard for the election of the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, as governor.
Earlier, at Igbanke Primary School, the Director General of the Edo State PDP Governorship Campaign Council, Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, promised that an Ighodalo-Osarodion Ogie administration would support market women with loans and provide scholarships for Edo students, harking back to similar initiatives during the PDP’s previous tenure.
“The Asue Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie Government, when they come on board, will assist market women with loans and give scholarships to our students. When PDP was in government, we sold rice for ₦8,000; today, a bag of rice is sold for ₦95,000. We don’t want those who will use Edo State’s money to build houses in Lagos or abroad. The APC has failed us, let us use their broom to sweep them away,” Iduoriyekemwen said.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Pastor Godwin Eleduwa stated, “We have come to add value to PDP. We know that no other party will win the Edo Governorship Election.”
During the event, as Asue Ighodalo greeted party leaders, he was stopped by an elderly woman, Madam Mary Osagie, who whispered in his ear, “Oga, we still de hungry.” In response, Ighodalo expressed his concern for her situation and vowed to end hunger in Edo State, attributing the high cost of living to APC policies.
“The high cost of food is a result of the policies of the APC Government, which has affected every aspect of our lives. What Osarodion and I want to do is remove all suffering. Whatever the APC is doing should be restricted to Abuja; they should leave us alone in Edo State,” Ighodalo said.
