Former Secretary to Government of Kaduna State, Samaila Lawal led over 434 other top members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Makarfi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Tuesday to the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state.
Makarfi is hometown of a former governor of the state and Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Ahmed Makarfi.
Others who defected to the APC in the state are a former Commissioner for Information and Chieftaincy Affairs, Saidu Adamu; ex-Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Idi Farouk; and the North-West Director, Obasanjo/Atiku Campaign Organisation, Umar Gana.
Kaduna State governorship candidate of the APC, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, who received the defectors at the Makarfi Township Stadium, said the people of the state must not be deceived by the antics of the PDP that had nothing to offer to them.
He also emphasised the need for party supporters to be non-violent, noting that election was no war.
He said the party’s focus in the state was to change the situation from “what it is today to what will make things better for our people.”
El-Rufai said, “We are delighted with this development. We came here to launch our campaign. Suddenly we received this good news. It is an indication that light will always overwhelm darkness.
“These people left PDP on their own because it is an anti-people’s party; it has nothing to offer.
“Our people should not allow deceivers to deceive them anymore. We are backward in all ramifications. Our health sector has collapsed. Our education has decayed; there is confusion everywhere. Our people must wake up and face the reality.
“Election is not war. It is not a do-or-die affair. It is a competition, and we are seeking for this power from the Almighty God and the people of Kaduna State.
“Our major focus is to change our situation from what it is today to what will make things better for our communities. Don’t allow anybody to deceive you in the name of religion, in the name of ethnicity. We are all indigenes of Kaduna State.”
A former chairman of PDP in the Makarfi Local Government Area, Salisu Gubuchi, who led the defectors said they were leaving PDP because the party was “anti-people.”
“We want to tell the whole world today that we have left PDP for APC and there is no going back. We can no longer stay in slavery and deprivation. We can no longer dwell in deceit and falsehood. There is a limit to slavery and today we declare our freedom,” he said.
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