Two out of the three All Progressives Congress, APC lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly have dumped the party for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The duo announced their defection on Monday at plenary thereby further depleting the membership of the opposition party in the state legislature.
The two lawmakers are the former Deputy Speaker of the House and member representing Akoko-Edo 1, Yekini Idaiye, and the member representing Orhionmwon East Constituency, Nosayaba Okunbor. Their defection was announced by the speaker of the minority House, Marcus Onobun, who read their letters of resignation from APC on the floor of the house.
According to Yekini Idaiye’s letter, “May I use this medium to inform you of my resignation as a member of APC. I took this decision because of internal crisis in the party from my ward to the local government level which led to the factions in the party for some time now.
“It is on this note that I have decided to resign my membership of the APC and officially defect to the PDP”.
Okunbor, on his part, said “This is to formally inform you of my decision to resign my membership of APC. This decision is sequel to the division within the party which has become intractable.
“I have made strenuous efforts to ensure that this division within the party is reconciled in line with the provision of the party’s constitution but to no avail as the leadership of the party has simply refused to allow the issues involved to be adjudicated upon.
“Consequently, I have no other option than to resign my membership as a lean Liberty, they say, is better than fat slavery”.
Welcoming the new members to the ruling party, the speaker commended their desire to work with the state governor in making Edo great again.
Meanwhile, the House adopted a resolution calling on the state commissioner of police and other relevant security agencies to address the menace of armed hoodlums unleashing terror in Orhionmwon, Esanwest local government areas, and other parts of the state.