Ahead of the Nov 11th governorship poll in Kogi state, local government party executives of the New Nigeria People’s party and hundreds of party members on Sunday defected to the Labour Party.
The defectors came from the governor Yahaya Bello’s central senatorial district which comprises of Ajaokuta, Adavi, Okene, Okehi and Ogori – mangogo local government areas of the state.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, the chairman of Ajaokuta local government, Mr. Salihu Onoghutu said they have decided to defect to the Labour party because both parties have similar manifestos and have the welfare of the masses as their top priority.
Onoghutu praised the Labour party and specifically it’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi for springing significant electoral surprises in the last general election and expressed optimism that the party will rule the country in the near future.
Receiving the decamperes, the state party chairman of Labour Party, Abdul Suleiman Ahmed said the decision of the NNPP members to defect to Labour Party was the right decision and said the new party members will have equal opportunities within the party.
He said Labour Party was the only party in the state that has no god fatherism and that the governorship candidate of the party, Adejoh Okeme unlike some governorship candidates in the state, has a clean record with verifiable credentials and is a successful legal practitioner who has touched lives of many under privileged.
Speaking on the occasion, the governorship candidate, Adejoh Okeme said if elected, he would put an end to the sufferings of the civil servants owing to nonpayment of salaries and pensions and the hunger and starvation that the masses have been thrown into due to bad governance.
Okeme said within his first one year in office, he would make Lokoja the best state capitals in Nigeria with necessary social amenities including uninterrupted water supply to the people and duplicate such feat in major towns in the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said his administration will not depend on the monthly allocation but rather look inward to generate resources to transform the state without tasking the masses on payment of unnecessary taxes.
While saying Kogi state is second richest in mineral deposits in the country, he said if elected he will liaise with federal government necessary agencies to tap the resources and create employment opportunities for the teeming youths and women in the state.