ISANLU, headquarters of Yagba East Local Council of Kogi State, stood still at the weekend, as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) received thousands of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members into its fold.

ADC chieftain, Mr. Bode Kayode, told a gathering at Itedo-Makutu in Isanlu that over 8,000 new members, who defected from APC and PDP to the ADC, had been issued membership cards.

Former Women Leader of APC in Ere Ward, Yagba West, Nike Akolade, on behalf of other defectors from APC, said the mass movement to the ADC in Yagba and other parts of Kogi was motivated by bad governance by the ruling APC and hunger, coupled with the unprecedented performance of Leke Abejide, House of Representatives member for Yagba Constituency and leader of the ADC in the area.

Abejide is the only ADC member in the ninth National Assembly. Akolade took time to introduce the defectors one after another, including women and youth leaders.

Welcoming the new members, Abejide described the development and the turnout at the occasion as unprecedented “lock down” of Yagbaland for the ADC, an opposition political party.

“We have seen that Yagba is locked down for ADC. Yagba has turned to one-party federal constituency, a supposed opposition party,” he declared. 

The federal lawmaker said that the mass defection to ADC was an indication that Yagba people were happy with his performance in the House; hence, their demonstration of love for him and ADC. 

While noting that the task of carrying on with the people-oriented programmes of ADC was enormous, Abejide pleaded with the old and new members as well as the electorate in the area not to limit their votes and support to him alone in the February 2023 elections, but also cast their votes for the three ADC House of Assembly candidates in Yagba West, Yagba East and Mopamuro under Yagba.

“You will never regret you did. What you have seen is a tip of the iceberg. ADC will do more,” he said.

He disclosed that he had made provision for 50,000 ADC membership cards and would be happier to increase the number to 100,000 in the days to come.