•Party: ex-chieftain’s exit can’t hurt our chances in Delta
A former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, Chief Felix Anirah, has given reasons for his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last week, less than 48 hours to last Saturday’s local government elections.
The politician said APC had nothing to offer him and his supporters.
He said he informed APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, of his decision to leave the party.
But APC said the exit of the former party bigwig would not affect its chances of winning elections in subsequent polls across the state.
Anirah was received by a huge crowd, led by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa at Sapele.
He said: “Before I came here to this special rally for me to formally dump the APC. The party’s national chairman called me and I told him that since APC is no longer convenient for me and my people, we are moving back to our party, the PDP.
“We will test our strength during the local government elections. The APC will not get any councillorship seat. PDP’s victory will be repeated in the general elections so that all will know that the PDP is fully in control of Delta State.”
Also, Delta State APC spokesman Leonard Obibi said the exit of the politician would not hurt the chances of the party in the state.
Obibi said the party’s success depended on the residents, whom he said were tired of PDP’s failures.
He said: “On a general note, APC is far stronger now than we were a few years ago. So, the defection of Chief Anirah does not distort our confidence at the grassroots. We are not a party that relies solely on a few individuals to rig elections for us. Therefore, the removal of any hand that ‘causes us to sin’ only helps to make us a better party for the people.
“Our success depends on the people of Delta State who are already tired of the lack of progress in their lives and yet see no sign of opportunities. We are very happy to say that our party is growing everyday. It is also in charge at the federal level. As a result, a lot of people have joined the party since the last election and a lot more will be joining us before the next election in 2019.
“We encourage all Deltans, who are tired of the problems of PDP in Delta State, to join us so that we can work hand-in-hand to kick out the PDP, which is full of insensitivity, and to remove the pain that it continues to inflict on their lives.”