The All Progressives Congress on Saturday vowed to bury the Peoples Democratic Party in the South-East. The APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who made the vow in Enugu, urged the people of the South-East to embrace the party, noting that the APC would guarantee their quest for an Igbo president.
Odigie-Oyegun spoke at a rally held to welcome former Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, to the APC.
Chime, who served as the governor of Enugu State on the platform of the PDP from 2007 to 2015, formally registered as an APC member at the elaborate event, held at his ward in Udi-Abia, Udi Local Government Area of the state.
The event attracted several chieftains of the APC, including Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal.
Addressing the crowd at the rally, Odigie-Oyegun spoke on the need for the South-East, which is seen as a PDP stronghold, to be part of the APC.
Noting that most of the prominent politicians in the zone were leaving the former ruling party, Odigie-Oyegun stressed that the APC would ‘finally’ bury PDP in the South-East.
He said, “We are going to finally bury the PDP in the eastern states. In the next election, who is going to be the governor of Enugu State? Which party can best ensure Igbo presidency? Is it not APC? No other party can ensure that. The people of the South-East are entitled to full participation in this country, and APC is committed and ready to provide the platform.
“For long, you (South-East) have been prevented from reaping the fruits of your labour. The time has come for you to reap the fruits of your labour. When I get back to Abuja now, I have a message for the national headquarters of our party – Enugu State is ready, the people of the South-East are ready. From the moment we won the last election, and seeing how skewed the country is, part of the plan was to ensure that the South-East returns to the mainstream of politics in this country.
Odigie-Oyegun dismissed a report that Chime’s move to APC was prompted by fears of possible prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Also speaking at the event, Tambuwal stressed that APC was “ready to do business with the people of the South-East.”
Noting that Enugu State was the gateway to the South-East, Tambuwal pointed out that an accord between the then Eastern Region and the North led to the emergence of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president in 1979.
Stressing the need for unity in the country, he said, “Chime is joining APC at a time when we are working hard to ensure that Nigeria remains a united country.”
Chime, in his address, thanked God for the opportunity to finally leave PDP. I thank God that I have finally left that wreckage of a once upon great party, PDP. We are postponing the burial date but the party is dead. You cannot be talking about politics and be taken seriously when you are in PDP.”
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