APC Has Become An Ethnic Party In Delta – Defectors

Some leading chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State on Wednesday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP lamenting what they described as the ethnic bias of the party in the state.

The more than 1,000 APC members who left were led by the 2019 state House of Assembly candidate for Burutu constituency II, Peres Oloye, and the 2019 campaign coordinator and Delta South publicity secretary of the APC, Agodi Agbor.

The defectors made their stance at a rally in Tuomo town in Burutu Local Government Area during which they dumped the APC’s broom for the umbrella of the PDP.

‘I left for the APC in the interest of the Ijaw nation and in search of greener pastures and adventure but I found out that the APC in Delta State is grossly anti-Ijaw. No Delta Ijaw person is considered good for any appointment,’ Oloye said.

‘All appointments made were given to other tribes and it seems there is no future for us who are ijaw people in the party in addition to endless in-fighting and intractable internal disunity in the state chapter of the party. So, I have decided to return to my original home, the PDP,’ he said in depicting the APC as an ethnic party.

Also speaking, Agbor said:

‘This return, though a very difficult decision for me, is a home coming for me. The APC’s inability to provide the platform for inclusive participation for all in Delta State, especially as it affects the Delta Ijaw interest and sustained internal conflicts, needless factions/tendencies and lack of vision to provide democratic dividends at all levels for the betterment of Nigerians etc, are reasons for my decision to realign with the PDP once again.

‘The sickening ethnic bias against Delta Ijaw people is worrisome and a kill-joy, to say the least. Thus, in summary, I can say without hindsight that my involvement in the APC, in the first place, was a misadventure but the experience is worth it, though,’ he said in arguing the case of the APC being an ethnic party in Delta State.

The defectors were received by the chairman of the PDP in Burutu, Mr Ebike Oromoni, on behalf of the state leadership.

‘You are welcome back home and we are happy today that you are finally back. In fact, we had put the state chairman, Kingsley Esiso and the Delta South Senatorial District chairman, Julius Takeme on notice about your return to the party and they are both excited about it.

‘Both of you (Oloye and Agbor) were missed by the party but thank God you both have re-traced your steps back to the party and so be assured of equal treatment with other party members, as you will be accorded all privileges available in the party and you will not be treated as new comers. So, I receive you with open arms back to the PDP,’ he said.

The assertion of the APC being an ethnic party in Delta flows from the dominance of the Urhobo in the party and in appointments flowing from the central government. However, defenders of the appointments going to the Central assert that the party’s strength is in the Central the only region where the party won a Senate seat and other federal and state seats.

The defection comes against the background of recent losses by the party in the LGA election and the Isoko State House of Assembly bye-election.

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