Akwa Ibom PDP Leader Defects to APC

The leader of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in Nsit Atai of Akwa Ibom State, Prince Sunny Elijah on Monday defied last-minute pressure from Governor Udom Emmanuel and defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a grand rally attended by Senator Godswill Akpabio, former Senate Minority Leader and other APC chieftains in the state.

Elijah, a strong grassroots politician rejoined PDP in August, last year, at the prompting of Governor Emmanuel after his disagreement with some Nsit Atai APC leaders over the local government chairmanship nomination but he returned to APC on Monday in spite of pleas from the governor.

On getting wind of Elijah’s impending defection last week, Governor Emmanuel was reported to have sent five of his commissioners who lured Elijah to the house of a multi-millionaire cement dealer and staunch supporter of the governor at Osongama Estate in Uyo where they begged him to remain in PDP with an immediate cash offer of N5 million and other promises.

Elijah, who rejected the offers defected to the APC with his wife and immediate past House of Assembly member for Nsit Atai, Mrs Sarah Elijah; another former House of Assembly member, Obong Asuquo Darby Udo; a former local government chairman, Sunny Ossom, a serving supervisor, 40 PDP ward executive members, former PDP chapter chairmen, former councillors and thousands of other supporters.

Addressing the rally held by the APC state leadership to receive him and his supporters at Odot, the council headquarters, Elijah dismissed the PDP as a party full of contractors and lightweight politicians.