I’m still in PDP, says Imo Ex-Dep speaker

As the gale of defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) by some members of Imo State House of Assembly continues, the immediate past deputy speaker, Okey Onyekanma (Mbaitoli Constituency), has denied dumping his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for APC, as reported by some print media.

He clarified that he only resigned his position as deputy speaker to respect the zoning principle in the state.His Special Assistant on Media/Publicity, Justice Nwafor, stated yesterday that the lawmaker resigned in line with the zoning arrangement, which stipulated that “the deputy speaker of the Assembly must come from the same zone as the governor.”

Governor Hope Uzodinma hails from Imo West senatorial district, and it is expected that the deputy speaker must come from there too.The statement read in part: “We wish to make it abundantly clear that at no time did the immediate past deputy speaker of Imo State House of Assembly defect to the APC or any other political party.

“Onyekanma had on January 21 resigned his position as the deputy speaker of Imo State Assembly in line with the zoning arrangement in the state, which allows the deputy speaker to come from the same senatorial zone with the governor.“He didn’t resign his membership of the PDP. He is a committed member of the PDP. This statement is to put the records straight.”