Ondo Guber: Ex-NDDC commissioner, others dump APC for PDP

Ex-NDDC commissioner, Benson Enikuomehin, and some others have dumped the APC for the PDP ahead of the gubernatorial election in Ondo State

A former representative of Ondo State on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Benson Enikuomehin, has left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the forthcoming November 16 governorship election in the state.

Enikuomehin defected from the APC along with over 200 of his supporters in the Ilaje Local Council Area of the state on Monday.

Speaking at a rally held in Omonira in the council area of the state, Enikuomehin said the APC has destroyed all the tenets of democratic principles.

He said, “We know Agboola Ajayi very well; his antecedents speak volumes. He has tried his best for the development of our area; we can boldly say that he is our son. He is married to our daughter here in Ilaje; we have seen his positive impact on Ilaje development, so we are very convinced that he would perform better than the person APC is now parading as their governorship candidate, who has had no known impact in Ilaje for a long time till date.

“The person who is at the helm of affairs of the party lacks the political will to move even Ilaje LG forward, not to mention Ondo State. We have had enough of the APC, and we are now ready to work and vote for the PDP and its candidate.”

Also, two of the APC defectors from Atijere, Olawale Oladun and Jejeniwa Raimi, said they have resolved to leave the APC, alleging that the ruling party does not value followers and is not ready to empower any community.

Jejeniwa said, “We cannot be part of such a system again; we are now in the PDP to add value to Agboola Ajayi’s ambition of becoming the governor of Ondo State.”

On his part, Ebijimi, who led his group into the PDP from the APC, said joining the PDP at this moment is a unanimous decision by all members of his group, and that they are in the PDP to be part of the change agents for the good of Ondo State.

He said, “About seven groups from the APC defected to the PDP, namely, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin’s group, Dr. Richard Ebijimi’s group, the Igbo Ward 2 group, the Mahin Ward 4 group (Atijere axis), the Etikan group, and others.”

The PDP Campaign Council in the Ilaje council area, led by Adebayo Nomiye, said, “We will never look back; we will make sure to canvass around the local government, vote for the PDP, stand by, and protect our votes so that there won’t be any manipulations on election day.”