Defections Hit Benue PDP Ahead Of Gov Poll

Following the outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Benue State, members of the Peoples Democratic Party have been defecting in droves to the All Progressives Congress.

APC presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Mahammadu Buhari(retd.), defeated the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in the state while state Governor, Gabriel Suswan, lost to Senator Barnabas Gemade in the governor’s bid to clinch a Senate seat.

The governorship candidate of the APC, Samuel Ortom, said he had so far received over 8,000 PDP supporters, notable among them are Maj. Gen. Lawrence Onoja(retd.), a former governorship aspirant, Matthias Oyigeiya, and former House of Reps candidate. John Tion.

Ortom, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, maintained that the PDP should expect another shocker as several other members of the state ruling party would join the APC before the April 11 polls.

According to him, the PDP misrule had made change easier as the people of the state were tired of not being paid their wages.

Meanwhile, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Mike Aondoakaa(SAN), and Prof Tony Ijohor(SAN), who is also Suswan’s lawyer, have resigned their membership of the PDP.

With Gemade’s victory, the APC now has two Senators in the state – George Akume – while PDP has only one, David Mark.

The House of Reps now stands at six seats for APC against five for the PDP.(Punch)