FROM GEOFFREY ANYANWU, AWKA
Senator Uche Ekwunife yesterday said she joined the All Progressives Alliance (APC) to ensure that her people are well and equitably represented as well as have a voice in the national government.
Ekwunife who formally made her defection to APC known to her campaign organization, said her desire to serve her people made her to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which leaders she said were not interested in the party winning the forthcoming re-run election for Anambra Central Senatorial District ordered by the Court of Appeal.
The former ranking lawmaker who took time to explain to them her journey and the intrigues of the PDP, Sunday Sun gathered, got the full support of her followers and supporters who pledged their loyalty for her in the new party.
Insisting on the need to be in the ruling party to serve her people, Ekwunife who addressed her people at her Campaign office where the State Secretary of PDP, Chief Okigbo and the Vice Chairman Central, Hon. Kenneth Enemuo were present and joined her to wave the APC broom said, “Somebody said sometime that for you to know if something will work you have to try, without trying, you won’t know whether it will work or not. And in life you must take a step.
“Some people said Iyom, why now, will our people accept APC? I said what did APC do? Why won’t they accept it? Why they voted PDP before was because it was a national party so thay can be part of national government.
“Today APC is the national party will you continue to be in isolation? We must be part of the government in order to have a voice in the government so that our people will be well and equitably represented.”
She also praised the leader of APC in the state and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige whose antecedent she said contributed in her choice of APC.
Ekwunife stressed that the indefinite suspension of the scheduled primaries for the election of the party’s candidate for re-run election was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, as it made it obvious that PDP was not ready to present a candidate.
She said, “Now, when I came here I look at all that and I said no, God you must speak to me, give me direction on how to go because I want to serve my people and I cannot serve my people if I don’t have a platform, platform matters.
“We had the stakeholders meeting on Tuesday, unfortunately on Wednesday evening one pressman called me and said we have one publication here, are you no longer running? I said I am running, he said we have something for publication on Thursday, I said can you scan it to me and he scanned this thing to me where PDP suspended all programmes and activities concerning congresses and primaries until Olisa Metuh is released from prison.
“Meanwhile, any party that must produce candidate must do that between this week and Wednesday next week otherwise that party has lost the opportunity to present a candidate. When I saw this, I say no, it can’t happen. Politics is about serving the people and more political parties are there also as platforms for you to use to serve your people. What matters is the quality of representation,” she submitted.