Tag: joins APC

A former Kwara State governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sunday Babalola, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Babalola noted that he cannot be in the same party with Senate President Bukola Saraki.

He said: “I have defected with my supporters. I am involved in politics because I believe politics is about service to the people.

“With the return of Saraki and his loyalists, who led the state and its people into penury, poverty, anguish, hunger, oppression and retrogression, to the PDP, it is clear that I have to move with my supporters to a party that is more focused on people development.

“I find it difficult to be in the same party with the major actor who many believe plunged Kwara into the abyss. As a past aspirant and an electorate, I have decided to pitch my tent with APC.

“Our state, as it is now, needs liberation from years of deceit, oppression and primordial politics of ‘stomach infrastructure’ so that the people can be delivered from a people who have held them hostage, and put them in the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment for long.

“I believe the government plays significant role in advancing the well-being of the citizens, through the provision of infrastructure and amenities, human capital development and by engendering an environment that is conducive for business growth and expansion.

“The improper management of state resources by the ruling elite, especially the oligarchy of Senator Bukola Saraki, who ruled for eight years and still pilots the affairs of the state through cronies, has to end.

“The level of poverty and infrastructure decay in spite of the volume of the revenues that had accrued to the state over the years, both from the federation allocations and internally generated revenue, is what every well-meaning person should rise up and fight.

“I will continue to offer my services and resources for the emancipation of my people and for societal development.”

A former governorship aspirant in Lagos State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, has left the party for All Progressives Congress (APC).

Olawale-Cole cited then ‘impressive performance’ of President Muhammadu Buhari and Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State as his reason for the defection.

He told  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday  in Abuja that he has formally joined APC and registered at ward `A’ Onigbongbo, Ikeja, Lagos State.

He explained further that his defection was influenced by “infrastructural development, transparency in governance and accountability of Buhari and Ambode.”

“I have examined the way the country is going; and from my findings it appears to me that supporting Buhari is the best choice we have at the moment.

“After being a member of PDP for years and running for the governorship ticket of the party in 2007 in Lagos state, it was evident that the APC is different.

“From what the president is doing in the fight against corruption and the issue of transparency in governance via Treasury Single   Account and others, he must be encouraged by men of goodwill.

“I have been in government before as a Commissioner for Finance and later for Works and Transport, Lagos State, we can see what the APC is doing differently, this government has a chance in the area of probity and transparency”.

He, however, noted that “there are still some shady deals among government officials but once the leadership is upright, the followers will do same.”

Olawale-Cole said that the decision to pitch his tent with the APC took him two years, observing that the decision was taken after critical analyses of the situation of things in politics.

“I find it difficult to find anyone with equal standing in integrity, honesty and probity with Buhari.

“Of course, there are inadequacies, but with time, the president and his Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will give us a better tomorrow and protecting our common wealth,”he said.