Ahead of the forthcoming general election, no fewer than 25000 members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have dumped the party in Lagos State for the opposition Accord Party.
This is coming just as the defectors from across all the local governments of the state have endorsed the aspiration of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Jimi Agbaje.
At the well attended ceremony, which took place at the Lagos Airport Hotel on Thursday, the candidate of Accord Party, Engineer Beckerly told the crowd of his desire to stand down for the candidature of Agbaje ahead of the poll.
The defectors who described themselves as Aggrieved Members of the APC were led by a chieftain of the party; Mr. Sunday Ajayi said they decided to dump their former party due to widespread impunity being carried out by the leadership of the party in the state.
Addressing a huge crowd of faithful, which included chieftains of the PDP and the Accord Party, Ajayi stated “We are the leaders of the Aggrieved APC have decided to bid bye bye to the the APC over the reign of impunity being carried out by the party in the state.”
in veiled reference, Ajayi accused the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of committing gross impunity against the membership through imposition of candidates on the APC, saying the era of one man rule in the state has gone.
“Until now, we were members of the APC but today we have decided to dump the party for Accord Party with our teeming members numbering about 25,000 from across all the local government areas of Lagos State.
“The reason for the defection of our members is not far fetched. We are all living witnesses to how the APC conducted its primaries to pick its candidate. You will agree with me that the process was far from being free and fair to all members of the party,” he said.
He cited the treatment that his former party meted out to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in his bid to secure a second term of office to buttress his point, saying never in the history of politics in the state would a governor be shabbily treated.
“You can imagine the treatment that they gave to our amiable governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. What happened to the governor is rather unprecedented. It has never happened before that a sitting governor who had performed excellently well would be prevented from getting a second term.
“The APC did its wisdom did its magic by stopping the bid of Ambode. When the people asked, the excuse they gave was that though the man worked, he didn’t do well as a party man. The question now is that was Ambode not a party man before they picked him as the party’s candidate in 2015? We are tired of this high level of impunity in the APC and we have opted to leave the party for them.
“Today, we are pitching our tent with Accord Party with our supporters and candidates for all elected offices with the exception of the governorship because we are endorsing PDP’s Jimi Agbaje.” He said.
On his part, a member of the Accord Party’s Board of Trustees, Rev. Isaac Adeniyi while welcoming the defectors into the party said the event was an epoch making one in the history of political development of the state.
According to Adeniyi, with resolve of teeming members of the APC to join the ranks of the state, the rescue of Lagos State from the vice grips of one man has been secured saying all stakeholders in both the party and the PDP must work to endure that the objective is achieved.
Commenting on the development, a visibly elated Agbaje said the task of rescuing our state has just begun, “I am happy to be here today to be part of this epoch making event. The task of rescuing the state is not about me but about the need to protect our collective commonwealth from the hands of one man.
“Looking at the number of people here today, only a myopic politician would discountenance the worth of caliber of people in this hall. Unfortunately, rather than find a way to fend and cater for the needs of their supporters they have been more preoccupied with destroying our posters and billboards.”
He concluded by urging all those present to go back to their communities to spread the gospel of freedom and change that have been spreading like wild fire in state.
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