Hon. Chidiebere Okoh, the Action Democratic Party’s 2023 House of Assembly candidate for Bende North Constituency, along with numerous supporters from the constituency’s five electoral wards, have officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The move also included the defection of ADC’s ward chairmen, youth, and women leaders.
During a ceremony at Okoko Item Civic Hall on Sunday, Okoh clarified his motives for joining the APC, declaring, “I am not joining the APC to just contest elections under its platform, but to team up with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and the lawmaker representing Abia North Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, because they have shown credible leadership within the short period they assumed their respective offices.”
He committed to collaborating with other like-minded members to secure a victory for the APC in the 2027 elections and to foster unity within the party, starting from his home base in Bende North.
Chief Anthony Onyekwere, the APC Chairman of Item Ward B in Bende Local Government Area, warmly welcomed the new members.
“It is a thing of joy that our brother has come on board, and his decision to join APC will help APC produce the next State House of Assembly member. I must also say that the rate at which members of other political parties in Abia State are joining the APC will guarantee the party’s success in future elections at local, state, and national levels,” he remarked.
Onyekwere reassured the newcomers of fair and equitable treatment within the party’s activities and encouraged them to avoid actions detrimental to the party’s unity and goals.