Ubah’s defection’ll liberate South-East, says Ganduje

…as ex-YPP chieftain sings Tinubu’s praises hours after defection

The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has expressed strong conviction that Thursday’s defection of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah from the ruling APC will herald a wind of revolution that will liberate the South-East.

Ganduje gave the assurance during the official presentation of the senator representing Anambra South by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The meeting took place a few hours after Ubah switched allegiance from the Young Progressive Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

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Wearing a white flowing Babaringa and a traditional red cap to match, the Anambra politician was among the delegation of the Senate president that arrived at the secretariat at about 4.15 pm.

Addressing newsmen at the party secretariat, Ganduje described Ubah as a ‘big fish’ who has an enormous political clout in Anambra politics.

He said, “This is the biggest fish we caught since I became the chairman. Let’s see what is happening in the South-East. With five states, three are controlled by different political parties. We have the PDP, Labour Party and APGA. The remaining two are the APC states. Now, where is the sense of unity in a geopolitical zone with five states controlled by four political parties? Is this a sense of collective decision to participate in national politics? No.

“Now we have started seeing the answer. We will start a revolution. Already, we have two states in the South-East and with this timber and calibre and political juggernaut (Ubah), I think we have found the answer, an answer to liberating the South-East geopolitical zone. I describe him as a swing politician because wherever he is, that party wins. And we expect this swing will swing throughout the southeast, especially to the other three states.”

The news of Ubah’s defection spread like wildfire after it was publicly read in the Senate Chamber on Thursday.

Ubah, who had been elected for a second term under the YPP in the previous elections, according to the letter, explained that he switched parties because of the insurmountable disagreements within his former party.

His defection increases the number of the APC senators to 60. But the Anambra politician refused to be carried away as he spent the next 15 minutes singing the praises of President Bola Tinubu, saying he was swayed by the exemplary leadership he has shown to join the ruling party.

He said, “I want to be sincere. It has always been difficult for the Igbo people to cue into the national party because of our sentiments and emotions. But, since our president has emerged, and I put that challenge to each Igbo man today in Nigeria, about 70 to 80 per cent of them drive their wealth from the legacy that the president has left in Lagos. Our president is a politician who understands pains and how to console people. He has that capacity.

“It is also important for me to tell our people about the appointment of Dave Umahi as the minister of works for the very first time, irrespective of our very low turnout of votes for him. Our president is rewarding those who didn’t vote for him. For that, it will be very difficult for any man with a conscience not to look at the direction of the central party. I consulted widely. I don’t see anyone who will come against my coming into the APC.

He added, “It is not all about talking. It is about doing. I believe in action and I am going to deliver. I have made my complaints to Mr President in front of the Senate President and Mr President has graciously given me his words that he will support me.”
In the same vein, Akpabio congratulated Ubah for taking the bold step, adding that he was happy that he also survived the whirlwind campaign of the Labour Party that swept across the South East.

“Our visit today is to surprise you (Ganduje) that we have increased our number in the Nigerian Senate. This time around we are bringing a political timber in the Senate to you. It was very difficult to convince him to join the train. Here is the man who survived the tsunami in the southeast when the Labour Party was deceiving Nigerians.

“He is not just coming with YPP alone; he is also coming with the timbers and calibres of the old party that used to be in charge of Nigeria. One of them is a former Senate President. So the man that comes will be the torch to lead the southeast to the national politics of Nigeria. It is my privilege to hand him over to you,” Ganduje concluded.