1, 000 PDP Members Defect to ACN

The battle for 2015 gradually begins.

Culled from Punch:

Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Enugu State, Maj.-Gen. Josef Okoloagu (retd.), on Monday said no fewer than 1,000 Peoples Democratic Party members had defected to the ACN in the state.

Okoloagu stated this at a press briefing in Enugu.

He said the defection would further embolden the ACN to wrest power from the PDP in the 2015 general elections in the state.

According to him, the defection followed the merger of the opposition parties in the state.

The retired Army General said while the opposition parties planned the sacking of the PDP-led government at the federal level on the auspices of the All Progressives Congress, the ACN would root out the PDP at the state level.

He said, “The arrogant PDP in Enugu State has said so many times that there is no opposition party in this state. I did not want to join issues with them until the need arose.

“I want to let the public know that the opposition parties in the state have become even stronger than before.

“After the 2011 general elections, major opposition parties in the state went into a discussion and the outcome of the discussion is that all the opposition parties in this state have collapsed into the ACN.

“We felt that the only way we can contain the arrogance of the PDP is to come together. This new political alignment under the ACN has members of the Congress of Progressives Change, Labour Party and the majority of All Progressives Grand Alliance members.”

Okoloagu added, “Interestingly too, thousands of PDP members in Enugu State have also registered as our members. The people I am talking about are even high-profile members. I don’t want to mention names now, but you shall soon find out.”

He noted that the opposition in the past failed to make any meaningful impact in the state because of the PDP rigging mechanism.