Gov. Bassey Otu.

By Anietie Akpan

The Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, has reaffirmed that the growing wave of defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is propelled by the sterling performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, rather than political calculations.

Governor Otu made this assertion during a high-profile event where he, alongside Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, and the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, formally received Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, into the APC family on Monday.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Nsa Gill, Governor Otu described the entrance of Governor Oborevwori into the APC as not just a political move but a thoughtful and courageous response to the growing aspirations for a better Delta State, a more prosperous Niger Delta, and a stronger Nigeria.

Governor Otu emphasized that Cross River, which for years stood as the lone APC-governed state in the South-South, now proudly shares the progressive banner with Delta and Edo States, marking a new dawn of strengthened political realignment in the region.

“An increasing number of South-South states under APC governance is a dream realized,” Governor Otu remarked, highlighting President Tinubu’s transformational leadership that has inspired trust, value reorientation, infrastructural rebirth, and economic rejuvenation across the nation.

Describing the mass defection led by Governor Oborevwori — with former Governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and key PDP structures in Delta — as a historic moment, Governor Otu noted that it sets the stage for “deeper regional collaboration, accelerated economic development, and greater political stability”.

As Vice Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum, Governor Otu urged Governor Oborevwori, other political stalwarts, and their supporters who have now joined the APC to bring their wealth of experience and grassroots mobilization strength to bear in advancing the collective quest for a flourishing South-South and a renewed Nigeria.

“Your Excellency’s decision to board the progressive train is a profound testament to your commitment to inclusive governance, sustainable development, and national unity. I am confident that your leadership will further galvanize our collective resolve to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people and drive forward the Renewed Hope Agenda championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Governor Otu declared.

Governor Otu concluded with a warm and optimistic welcome, saying, “Welcome aboard, Your Excellency. Together, we shall chart a new course of greatness for our region and our nation.”

Prince Adewole Adebayo 

By Anietie Akpan

The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo has called on defectors to the party to strictly adhere to its Ideology and not to bring their shenanigans from their old parties.

He said new entrants should wait for future Elections after showing good conduct.

Speaking on  News Central breakfast show on Monday, monitored by our correspondent, Prince Adebayo said party structures across the 36 states and Abuja have been sufficiently informed on how to educate the new members no matter their status in life.

He said the party welcomes all the new entrants, disclosing however, that “what we have managed to do is to define what our party stands for.

“That is why you have seen some of the reactions as people are joining our party, we welcome them and we tell them ideological issues and we also tell them all these shenanigans that you do in your party, don’t bring them here.

“We spend a lot of time educating our members. Do not suddenly get used to money you did not ask for or monies you did not work for. Do not start to learn a bad habit, start to set up fake structures,don’t start to do unlawful registration, don’t start to fragment yourselves, don’t start talking about ethnicity. So we keep educating our people.

“And if you go around the state, you will see a lot of tension because when they come and they say, oh, we want to move into a bigger sectariat, we need to buy this and that, people say, no, that’s not what we need in this party, may be you should keep your money to yourself.”

Continuing he said: “You saw that there was a press conference by all our state chairmen where they said, look, you guys who are coming newly should study our ideology, don’t try to impose anything on us. We don’t need anything from you, just join the party and start behaving well.

“We don’t want them to come and change us, we want to change them and we don’t want to be used for things that are not in the interest of the people.

“You remember  in my speech which went viral last week on my wife’s 50th birthday, I said, if you have arrangements in your former political party, if you were a former supporter of President Tinubu and you had your conspiracy against the people and you promised your own reward for that and they didn’t give it to you, that is not the basis to come to the SDP, and if you come to the SDP, don’t tell us, we don’t want to know, we’re not interested in it”.

Asked if the policy of the current administration is yielding any result ,he responded that;

“It is known that we are opposed to President Tinubu vehemently on policy. We do not have a history with him, we have no understanding with him. When they won the election and they were offering us positions, we did not accept, we did not dramatize it, we just told them sorry keep  your position to yourself, run your government, we will be here offering alternative policies.

“The same thing with the coalition we are talking with the people. What we are saying is if you plan something out there on how to wrest power, don’t come to us. If you want to wrest power for the benefit of the people, you can start talking to us on what you are going to do differently.

“Start talking to us about how you are going to show to the people that you are repentant and you are accountable for your past actions, past words, past mistakes, past misgovernance.

“Once you do all of that, you can then join our party, grow in the structure and when we see that you have behaved very well, maybe not  in this election, maybe in future election, we will start to feature you” he explained

By Anietie Akpan

In a gale of defections rocking the People Democratic Party (PDP) nationwide, a prominent member in Ikom Urban Ward 1 has dumped the PDP to the All Progressive Congress (APC) with thousands of his supporters.

The heavy weight is the former PDP House of Assembly aspirant in the 2023 general election, Mr Leonard Okimsama, popularly known as Cocoa Caterpillar.

Pillar Today gathered that this defection may be a forerunner for the original caterpillar and others in Etung and Ikom to follow suit.

The defection, according to Kingsley Tanko of Noticeboard.com.ng, in a release on Monday, April 28, took place at his ward, in the presence of both Ward and Chapter Executives.

Okimsama while making his speech, said  his coming to APC with his supporters, “is to compliment the effort of the workaholic Ikom 1 State House Member, Hon Neji Abang, in the fight to attract development to his people”.

After his speech, the Cocoa Caterpillar and other defectors such as the PDP Ikom Urban 1 women Leader, Mrs Esame Kayi, former PDP women Leader, Mrs Mercy Okim, The CEO of Excellent driving school, Mr Excellent Etta, wrote their names in the Party register and signed their membership slips.

The Ward Chairman and and the Chapter Secretary who gave their separate charges, assured the defectors of inclusiveness, adding that “there’s no new or old APC in Ikom Urban 1”.

Hon Abang, thanked Mr Okimsama and his thousand of supporters for making the right decision to join him in the APC.

He promised to work hand in gloves with them to attract the dividends of democracy to Ikom Urban.

Representing the Ikom Traditional Administration, Mr Francis Bojor Ndifon, aka Ogbana, following the development, declared Okimsama as the Leader of APC in Ikom Urban Ward 1, and urged that any message for the People of Ikom Urban Ward 1, should pass through him.