Date: 2021-06-15

The Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that none of its members defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Scores of PDP members, including former 16 council chairmen, their deputies, supervisory councillors and councilors, had on Saturday defected to APC at an event to mark democracy day in the state.

At the event, factional caretaker chair Abdullahi Samari announced that no fewer than 3,500 members of the PDP decamped to the fold of APC.

But spokesperson of PDP in the state Tunde Ashaolu described the claim as false and misleading, adding that the "theatrical show that took place at Banquet Hall on Saturday was an attempt at face-saving by the governor.

The PDP said: "Governor AbdulRaman Abdulrazaq was mocked by members of his party for staging what they described as a scam and macabre dance, and cautioned him to stop embarrassing the party. The APC members also accused Abdulrazaq of bastardising the image of the party with his divisiveness, corrupt, insensitive actions and lacklustre performance across board."

"For the avoidance of doubt, no members of our party moved to the shrinking APC on Saturday, except the suspended local government chairmen and councilors who had since early last year, publicly announced their defection to the APC after being threatened with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecution by Governor Abdulrazaq.

"Rather than lying that thousands of PDP members across the 193 wards of Kwara moved to their crisis-laden and rudderless party, we challenge Governor Abdulrazaq and his scriptwriters to mention any prominent member of Kwara PDP, who defected to the APC on Saturday aside the former local government chairmen and councilors who were suspended from office on allegation of financial misappropriation.

"The shameless defection show organised by Abdulrazaq and his minions has shown that the governor is worried by the positive outcomes of the ongoing reconciliation move within the Kwara PDP, which has seen aggrieved members pledging their loyalty to the party and members of the APC in several local government areas of the state moving to the PDP. It has also got to show that the governor is desperate to do anything to redeem his already battered image and goodwill."