Former Governor dumps PDP for APC

dimeji akinloye

January 8, 2016 9:10 PM

It was gathered that members and APC stakeholders at the meeting were surprised when Chief Nwobodo and Senator Okolo arrived at the meeting.

Jim Nwobodo

Former Governor of Anambra state, Chief Jim Nwobodo and Senator Fidelis Okoro of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State.

The ex-PDP loyalists declared their defection to the ruling party on Friday, at a state APC stakeholders meeting hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jeffrey Onyeama.

Nwobodo, who was recently fingered by the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) as one of the beneficiaries of the $2.1 billion arms funds scam currently undergoing investigation, denied the allegation.

He said N500 million released to him by the NSA was meant for PDP leaders in the South-East to mobilise for the re-election of Goodluck Jonathan as president in the 2015 election.

READ: Jim Nwobodo ordered to vacate residence

In his speech, Nwobodo affirmed that his joining APC is not for a job.

“I am not looking for a job. I am talking because I want peace. I want our people to be part of the Federal Government at the centre. I had a problem being an opposition governor. I am not coming into APC because I want anything. I want our people to reintegrate and have our own share of the Federal Government resources,” he said.

He further stated that his had always been a member of the APC while he was in PDP, noting that the ruling party's 'change' slogan started in 1983 when he was an opposition governor.

Nwobodo is also a one time senator and a former minister of information, while Okoro was a senator between 1999 and 2007.

dimeji akinloye