Kogi State chairman of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Kingsley Oga and party members across the three senatorial districts have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and endorsed the party’s candidate, Usman Ododo, for the November 11 governorship election.
The ADC chieftains and members also collapsed their entire structures into the APC, a statement from their media office released in Abuja stated.
Among the decampees was the only ADC state Assembly member, Hon. Idowu Ibikunle, representing Yagba West State Constituency at the Kogi State House of Assembly, who in declaring support for the APC candidate, pledged to campaign widely for him.
Addressing party members during the defection yesterday in Lokoja, he noted that the ADC members in the state decided to work for Ododo whom they consider most suitable to govern the state among all the governorship candidates.
He disclosed that a five-man committee set up to assess all the candidates in the race had concluded in its report that Ododo was the right candidate to vote for in the upcoming election.
He said there is need to consolidate on Governor Yahaya Bello’s achievements across all sectors and that Ododo would continue from where he would stop.
The ADC chairman commended Governor Bello for the remarkable achievements across the state during his seven-and-a-half-year tenure.
He also pointed out that from what had been seen and heard about the APC gubernatorial candidate, he would undoubtedly perform well when he becomes the next governor of the state.
Hon. Idowu Ibikunlen, representing Yagba West State Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, said he contested as an ADC candidate and won his election.
He added that despite being a member of the ADC, he and his supporters had all decided to vote for the APC candidate in the governorship election.
All three senatorial chairpersons of the ADC also spoke, affirming their commitment to mobilise their people to vote for the APC candidate.