A member of the House of Representatives, representing Orlu/Oru east/Orsu Federal Constituency in Imo State, Jerry Alagbaoso, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker read the letter of his defection during the plenary session on Tuesday, according to The Cable.
Alagbaoso attributed his defection to the “confusion” in the Imo state chapter of the PDP, insisting that his decision to switch party would enable him to collaborate more effectively with the Governor of Imo, Hope Uzodimma, to align the state at the core of Nigerian politics.
He said, “All is not well in Imo state PDP. This explains why three of our colleagues from Imo state and PDP extraction in the house of representatives defected to APC a few weeks ago.
“I will not be an exception considering the man-made confusion and headaches of PDP in Imo.
“What is happening in Imo PDP is not satisfactory to those people (members) and my colleagues who crossed over and it is not also satisfactory to me.
“The time for me to leave PDP and join my colleagues and join my brothers in APC is now.
“I’m leaving PDP because of the positive achievements of the performing governor of Imo who is of APC extraction. His achievement so far is worthy of commendation.
“I, therefore, wish to join him (Uzodimma) to move Imo state further to the centre just as Imo state elders have advised all politicians in Imo state origin to allow the governor to complete his second term because of his great achievement in Imo.”
While reading his letter of defection, the minority leader of the house, Ndudi Elumelu, interrupted him, raising a point of order to express objection to the defection.
However, Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker, did not acknowledge the objection.
Gbajabiamila said Alagbaoso’s defection was a significant one which was why he granted him permission to read his letter.
“It is indeed an earthquake moment. That is why I allowed him to read the letter so that you can hear from the horse’s mouth,” Gbajabiamila said.
Alagbaoso is a three-term member of the house of representatives. In 2022, he failed in his bid to clinch the PDP senate ticket to contest in the 2023 general election.