The Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, says it is not bothered about Monday’s defection of some party leaders to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The PDP Vice Chairman, Lagos Central, Hakeem Olalemi, made this statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday.
DAILY POST reports that some PDP leaders, including the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Hakeem Amode, announced their resignation from the party on Monday.
Other prominent PDP leaders who dumped the party for APC were Alhaja Safurat Abdulkareem, a two-time PDP deputy governorship candidate in the state and a former Lagos PDP deputy chairman, Chief Ola Apena.
According to Olalemi, the party would not miss the defectors as they were not active members of the party, adding that the defectors had not been active in PDP in the last two years.
“All the people who left had been inactive in the party in the past two years; we are not going to miss them at all.
“The party has since moved on. We are moving on without them. These people showed long ago they were not PDP members, again, they are Jandor’s people, and we have always known that they are APC.
“In Lagos PDP, we have long forgotten them. They had not been part of us for over two years. When last did you hear them defend PDP in Lagos State before their defection?
“It (their defection) is not news to us in the Lagos PDP, we know they left since. We are not bothered a bit, ”;Olalemi said.
The PDP leaders who dumped the party on Monday for APC also included Prince Rufus Adeniyi, a former PDP Assistant State Organising Secretary (Lagos West) and Mr Jerry Afemikhe (Olori Odo), a former PDP House of Representatives candidate in Surulere Constituency I.
Some 2023 PDP Lagos State House of Assembly candidates who dumped the party included Messrs Keshinro Abiodun (Epe 1); Akeem Jinadu, (Eti-Osa 1) and Ibrahim Balogun (Kosofe 2) Messrs Taofeek Obanikoro (Lagos Island 1); Tunde Pratt (Lagos Mainland 2); Saheed Aregbesola (Oshodi-Isolo State 2), Sulaimon Thompson (Surulere 1)and Taofeek Kuye ( Ajeromi-Ifelodun State 1) also dumped PDP for APC.
