Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun yesterday asked defectors and returnees to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) through the right channel and not “through the backdoor.”
In a veiled reference to former governorship candidate of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade who alongside others recently returned to APC, Abiodun said decampees must identify with the APC openly and not through the backdoor.
He spoke yesterday while receiving thousands of defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) into the ruling party in the state.
The PDP defectors, who were loyalists of former governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel, were led by former deputy governor, Alhaja Salimot Badru, while the ADC gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 general elections, Gboyega Isiaka led his ‘Believe Movement’ political structure into the ruling party.
The well-attended event tagged ‘Formal Declaration and Presentation of party flags’, took place at Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In his address, Governor Abiodun boasted that with the development, APC remains “the only political party in the state.”
He warned against discrimination in the party, saying there were still many positions left behind for those that just joined the APC.
“There are no new entrants, I do not want to hear any discrimination between those that joined us and those of us that have been on ground. We are all one.
“Nobody can say he/she is joining us through the backdoor or through the window that is illegal. If anyone wants to join us, he will come through the proper channel,” the governor said.
The National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, represented by the Zonal Secretary (Southwest), Ayo Afolabi alongside the governor and the APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Yemi Sanusi, jointly presented party flags to the new APC members.
In his response, Isiaka explained that the Abiodun-led government had prioritised social welfarism policy which was part of his agenda for contesting the last election.
The three-time governorship candidate described his defection alongside his numerous supporters as a “display of sacrifice, sincerity of purpose, value alignment and willingness to pursue the common good.”
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