Chief Tiwei Orunimiye, an immediate ex-Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Saturday led over 5,000 members of the opposition to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State.
Those who defected to the PDP included a serving lawmaker representing Brass 2 Constituency in the House of Assembly, Hon. Alfred Watson, President Buhari’s Representative in Ogbia Local Government Area in the 2015 elections, Chief Orifie Ene, Chairman of Bayelsa Waterways, Mr. Akparasia Africa, and 98 party leaders in the state.
Governor Seriake Dickson received the defected APC chieftains in an elaborate ceremony at the Oxbow Lake Pavilion, Yenagoa.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Relations, Mr. FIdelis Soriwei, stated that the Governor received the defected APC Chieftains at the Oxbow Lake Pavillion, Yenagoa, on Saturday.
The governor said the latest batch of decampees from the APC signified the party’s death in the state.
He explained that the 98 APC leaders led to PDP by the former chairman represented the soul of the opposition party, which gave PDP a fight for governorship of the state in 2015.
He said that those who defected to the PDP were the real members of the party different from the supposed leaders of the party whose influence was prominent only on the pages of newspapers.
He said, “We welcome Chief Tiwei Oruminiye, our brother Africa, our member in House of Assembly, Hon. Alfred Watson, Chief Gita and indeed the 98 leaders and over 5000 members of the APC to the PDP.
“With what has happened, we have already brought down the APC in Bayelsa. These are the original owners of the APC and they represented the soul of the APC. “Theses were the people who engaged us in the fight for the Governorship of the state in 2012. They tried their best but we were too much for them.
“Although I don’t intend to mention names, I know that the person they worked for should be grateful to these people. Everywhere we went during the election , these were the people that we saw.
“When they were doing the fraud in Oporoma, these were the people we saw. The APC does not have a life with the defection of these people to our party.”
Governor Dickson promised to ensure that those coming into the PDP from the APC were treated fairly and given the same treatment as the members they are meeting in the party.
, on Saturday led over 5,000 members of the opposition to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State.){kind=link}