18th November, 2020
By Naomi Sharang
An All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain, Mr Osita Okechukwu, has hailed the defection of Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the party, describing it as a welcome development.
Okechukwu, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the governor had made a bold move by joining the ruling APC.
Okechukwu, who is also the Director- General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), said that he (Umahi) had activated the Zikist Eagle Alliance in the South-East geopolitical zone.
“I congratulate His Excellency, David Umahi, for flying the pragmatic Zikist Eagle Alliance, which governed the First and Second Republics in Nigeria.
“It is a welcome development, especially given the fact that he is leading the squad of his colleagues and other prominent Igbo leaders to reinforce the revived Zikist North and East Alliance,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Umahi had announced his defection to APC, alleging that PDP was unfair to Nd’Igbo in spite of their years of loyalty and investment of their electoral advantage on the party.
Okechukwu said: “I agree with the governor entirely, because if you remember that His Excellency, Dr Alex Ekwueme of blessed memory, who was the founder of PDP, was treated shabbily.
“Apart from individual appointments, what did the South-East get in return?
“Personal important appointments in the face of regrettable dilapidated physical infrastructure have contributed nothing to the zone.
“But, the current APC-led Federal Government is carrying the cross of infrastructural development to the joy of our people.”
Okechukwu said that Umahi’s move would guarantee the popular agitation for Nigeria’s president of Igbo extraction, come 2023.
“It will be more than any alchemy; it will facilitate it, more so when he (the governor) is the pilot of gale of defections we are expecting from the zone to APC.
“As the chairman of South-East Governors’ Forum, Umahi is opening the gate for his other brother-governors,” he said.