• Vow to secure votes for Ajayi
• APC hails Aiyedatiwa on plan to renovate schools with N3.5b

Hundreds of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Odigbo Local Council of Ondo State, at the weekend, defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the forthcoming November 16 governorship election in the state.

A chieftain of the APC in the council, Yusuf Abdulateef, who led the defectors to the opposition party, said that their decision to dump the ruling party was hinged on bad leadership and governance allegedly inflicted on the state and the country by the party.

Abdulateef, who described their movement from APC as freedom from bondage, pledged to work for the victory of the PDP’s governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, and gave the assurance that more APC members in the council would join the party before the election.

Also, a group within the APC, known as ‘Iya Ikale,’ that expressed displeasure at the reward system of the party, has collapsed into the PDP.

Similarly, APC members in the Ajue community were received into the PDP fold by the Director-General of the campaign council, Clement Faboyede, who enjoined them to be steadfast in the party.

Chairman of the Campaign Council, Dr Eddy Olafeso, assured the defectors that they would not regret their action, stressing that the PDP would never disappoint them or cut short their expectations.

Olafeso, however, announced Abdulateef as the Chairman, Mobilisation of Ondo South Senatorial District of the Campaign Council.

MEANWHILE, the APC, Ondo State chapter, has hailed Aiyedatiwa for approving N3.5 billion counterpart fund for the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to support the construction and renovation of public primary schools across the state.

The ruling party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary in the state, Alex Kalejaye, while lauding the governor for his commitment to the development of the education sector, stressed that the role of the sector in development could not be overemphasised.

According to the party, which described primary education as the foundation from which the higher schools harvest quality materials for further grooming, the governor deserves commendation for not paying lip service to the reconstruction of the entire sector.

The party expressed optimism that the renovation of schools would enhance learning and improve the quality of education at the primary level.