A former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, has said he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to correct the insinuations that the party an ethnic or religious contraption.
Kalu, who established and funded the Progressive Peoples Alliance, announced on Wednesday, November 16, that he had dumped the party.
Speaking at a press briefing, Kalu said: “If they see us in this place, they will know that that APC is not an ethnic or religious party.”
He admitted that it will be difficult to sell the APC in the South East, but expressed optimism that it is workable.
“It is something that we need to be explaining to the Catholic bishops, Anglican bishops, the Pentecostal churches and the rest of them,” he said.
Stressing his value to the APC, Kalu said that since his defection, at least 4,000 residents of Abia State have joined the party, including two serving Federal lawmakers.
He said: “Between Sunday when I registered at Igbere and now, there are 4,000 new members already registered with the APC in Abia without making it open.
“There are two members of the House of Representatives who are there right now that are joining the APC.
“If I had joined at the early times when they were forming the government, it would have appeared as if I want to be part of that process. This is the right time to join.”
Kalu said he had been negotiating his move to the APC with the executives of the party, adding that national leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were lobbying him at the same time.
According to him, he is not planning to run for any office for now but said if the party finds him worthy to serve in any capacity, he would oblige.
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