Why I’m leaving PDP for APC – Gov Umahi

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, says he has made up his mind to leave the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Party.

He told the national leadership of the PDP, Uche Secondus in Abuja on Tuesday that the decision was irreversible, adding that he could not continue to stay in a party that would not guarantee presidency for the South-East in 2023.

He said the APC would protect the interest of the South-East in the 2023 elections.

A source at the National Working Committee of the PDP told The Punch that members of the committee, who were led to the meeting tried in vain to convince the governor not to abandon the party.

Apart from Secondus, those that were at the meeting at the Ebonyi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja were Deputy National Secretary, Agbo Emmanuel; National Organising Secretary, Austin Akobondu; Financial Secretary, Abdullahi  Maibasira;  National Women Leader, Mariya Waziri  and Senator Sulieman Nazif.

The governor was said to be friendly when he received the PDP delegation, but stuck to his decision to leave the PDP when the issue came up.

It was gathered that the PDP delegation impressed it upon the governor that there was no need leaving the PDP for the APC, which they argued had become unpopular.

Sources at the meeting, however, said the governor was not convinced, insisting that  the APC was planning to zone the 2023 Presidency to the South-East.

He was said to have promised to stay in the PDP if the party could make a pronouncement that it would zone the Presidency to the same zone.

One of the sources said, “I think his (governor’s) mind was made up. We told him there was no need for him to abandon the party that had made him a deputy governor, state chairman of the party, two-time governor and all that. But he refused.

“He wanted us to unilaterally zone the office of the Presidency to his area. We cannot do that. Parties are not run that way. He told us he was leaving. That is what we got from him.’’

When contacted, Secondus confirmed that the party’s leadership met with Umahi.

He, however, refused to declared the details of the meeting, insisting that the meeting was on ‘‘national issues.’’