Zoning controversy causes mass defection in Anambra APGA

Awka—HUNDREDS of members of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, following alleged breach of the zoning of arrangement for political offices in the area.

Chief Dan Okpoko, who led the defectors, said the people of the local government can no longer tolerate what he described as the insincerity of the leaders of APGA, adding that most people in Nimo had become disenchanted with the party.

Okpoko said: “I joined APGA in good faith seven years ago, but after some time, I started noticing a lot of deceit among the leaders of the party. The most worrisome was that we always work hard to win election, but after the elections, all those who made it possible for the party to win were abandoned.

“That is why I have decided to go back to my original party, the PDP, with all my supporters who constitute the majority of voters in Nimo because my aim of joining APGA had been defeated.”

According him, Nimo, Abba and Abagana communities, which make up Njikoka 11 constituency, agreed many years ago that the House of Assembly seat should be rotated among them every four years, regretting that the incumbent lawmaker for the constituency and his party, APGA, had distorted the zoning arrangement by insisting on returning to the House of Assembly in 2019.

“Everybody in our constituency knows that those we send to the House of Assembly stay for only one tenure to give room for another community to present a lawmaker. It is the turn of Abagana to produce the next member of the House of Assembly and it cannot because the present lawmaker from my ward support s illegality,” he stated.