The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday suffered a major
setback as thousands of its members dumped the party for the Social
Democratic Party (SDP) in Baruten local government area of Kwara
State.
The defectors were led by an aggrieved House of Assembly aspirant,
Prince Umar Sariki Usman, the son of the Emir of Yashikira.
Giving reasons for their defection, Usman decried the high-handedness
and impunity in the party.
He condemned the imposition of candidates against local zoning
arrangements in the local government.
Also speaking at the event, the Makama Yashikira, Alhaji Adamu Yusuf
said that there was an agreement on the zoning of the Assembly seat in
the constituency.
“We have a gentleman agreement of power rotation between Okuta and
Yashikira that made up our constituency.
“It is now the turn of Yashikira to occupy the Assembly seat, sadly
the APC decided to breach the agreement.
“I want to let you understand that an average Batonu man will always
stand by his word, that’s why we have decided to leave the APC and
pitch our tent with the SDP and there is no going back,” he said.
The State chairman of SDP, Alhaji Azeez Afolabi received the defectors
in Baruten.
Afolabi led other State working committee members to Kosinski, Baruten
LG headquarters to receive the new members.
He promised the defectors of a level playing field, stressing that the
Social Democratic Party abhorred imposition, high-handedness, and
cheating.
The chairman told the defectors that fairness, justice, and equity
were the watchwords of the party.
The defectors in turn promised to erase the memory of APC from the
local government after which they did a symbolic burning of the broom,
the logo of the APC logo.
