Group decries defection of C’ River PDP members

A group under the aegis of Yakurr Patriotic Forum has decried the defection of some members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Cross River to the rival All Progressives Congress.

Some members of the PDP in Yakurr, Obubra, Ikom and Boki local government areas had during the recent APC registration in the state defected to the opposition party.

It was gathered that key leaders of PDP in affected areas had sponsored some of their cronies to register with the APC for fear of losing their relevance in PDP during its primaries ahead of the 2015 elections.

However, speaking on the defection at a stakeholder’s meeting on Wednesday in Ugep, headquarters of  Yakurr LGA, the interim leader of the group, Mr. Etim Ayomobi, said the membership strength of PDP in the affected areas had dwindled considerably.

Ayomobi, who was a former commissioner for lands during the administration of Mr. Donald Duke, said the meeting was organised to re-assess the current situation in the party.

He, however, assured Governor Liyel Imoke of the people’s support in the area, adding that the regretted defection was as a result of bad leadership at the local level.

Ayomobi said, “We regret the current political standing which is pitiable and at its lowest ebb. This is due to the incompetent political leadership in Yakurr. This bad leadership in Yakurr can only be corrected by our collective actions and not by any external factor or interference.

“Presently, we are facing difficult times as a lot of our teeming party supporters have defected to the All Progressives Congress as evidenced in the just concluded membership registration.”

Regretting the in-fighting among party leaders, Ayomobi said “I can tell you now that the party is drifting and if something is not done urgently, we might be in for more challenges as we approach the 2015 general election.

In a paper presented  during the meeting and titled “Yakurr in Retrospect”, Dr. Godwin Igile, urged sons and daughters of the area to work as a team to resolve aggrieved issues.

Igile, a lecturer at the College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, appealed to youths in the area to shun cultism, violence and prostitution, urging the youths not to allow themselves to be used as thugs during elections.