Over 50,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) including A former Secretary to the Adamawa State Government, Mr Kobis Ari Themnu, defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday.
Former vice president Atiku Abubakar who received them at Ribadu Square venue of the event in Yola, blamed them for identifying and aligning their loyalty with a failed party in the first place.
Atiku however said their mistake of being in the APC was now forgiven, and further assured that the PDP was poised to take over governance of the country in the 2023 elections.
He urged members of other parties to join the PDP for the development of the state and country.
Earlier, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri noted that the defectors would be given level playing ground with the old members of the party to contest any post.
Fintiri assured of free and credible PDP congress in the state as there is no stranger in the party.
He urged the new members to canvas support for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential bid ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
Barrister Tahir Shehu, the state chairman in his remarks, said the occasion marked the beginning of the collapse of other political parties to the PDP as the party was committed to producing the next president from the North-East region.
“The door of the party is wide open for new members as developmental projects provided by the present administration are enough to speak for themselves as well as determine political directions for the state come 2023 elections.
“We would work hand in hand with the new decampees to move PDP forward,” he said.
Col. Andrawus Sawa who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said they decided to join PDP having been fully convinced with the party’s idea to improve the security situation in the country. Our reason for coming to PDP is to unseat the APC as a party in the state,” he said.
Notable among the decampees are Commodore Usman Sali Bodes (rtd), Daniel Bwala, Philip Gatuwa and Nedo Kufaltu.