By Abdulazeez Mohammed.
Palpable fears have engulfed the camps of senatorial aspirants on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi Central as Barrister Natasha Akpoti on Saturday transmuted her Social Democratic Party (SDP) structure to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a well attended decamping ceremony held at her country home of Ihima in Okehi LGA, the National Chairman of PDP Dr. Iyorchia Ayu described the defector as a big fish and an amazon whose entry into the party has signified the death of APC in the state.
The Chairman who was represented by his National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyawu at the crowd studded ceremony said, “by pulling this big fish and an amazon into the party marks a new beginning for the PDP in rekindling its winning streak in the state.”
Recall that Barrister Natasha Akpoti, a frontline governorship and senatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2019 election was a thorn in the flesh of APC.
Dr. Ayu, who commended the people of the state for their resilience in standing against the misfortune of the ruling APC, said with the caliber of defectors, the people have resolved to reclaim the state.
He noted with disgust the misery that the people have been subjected to in the last six years of this administration, and called for collective determination to use the ballot to restore their dignity.
He disclosed that although Natasha had defected three months ago, today’s ceremony was a formal declaration to join the party in order to contribute her quota to the development and growth of PDP and the state.
He called on the electorate, especially those from the Kogi Central, to team up with her to rescue the state from the jaws of maladministration and assured of PDP’s readiness to win all segments of the forthcoming general elections.
In her speech, Barr. Natasha Akpoti explained that her joining the PDP is to seek a more formidable platform to wrestle power from the APC.
She said moving her structure to PDP was not borne out of misgivings with her erstwhile party, but to align forces with PDP which has wider reach in order to send the APC out of power before wrecking more havoc on the state.
She lamented that the state with its abundant human and economic resources ought to be a giant in the comity of states, but became a laughing stock due to bad governance by the ruling APC, which has hoisted hunger, depravity, depression, infrastructural decay and percentage salary payments.
While allaying the fears of crisis in her former party, Natasha disclosed that she moved with the state chairman, Alhaji Mouktar Atima, the secretary and others in order to fortify the PDP to ensure her winning the forthcoming senatorial election.
She solicited the support of all well meaning party members to see the defection as a service to the people of the senatorial district and the entire state.
In their separate speeches, the state chairman of the party, Engineer Sam Ohuotu, former governors, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and Captain Idris Wada, a member of the House of representatives, Hon. T.J. Yusuf and zonal chairman of PDP commended her courage and doggedness to restore dignity of her people to use PDP platform to move the state forward.
They urged the people to close political ranks for the task of winning all the segments of the election, reminding them that Okehi LGA has remained with the party since 1999.
