Plateau PDP Rep joins APC

Amember of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives from Plateau State, Edward Pwajok, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Pwajok, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), announced his defection in a letter read at yesterday’s plenary by Speaker Yakubu Dogara in the presence of Governor Simon Lalong.

His defection further decimated the number of PDP lawmakers to 123 in the House, after several members of the party defected to the APC which now controls nearly 230 seats.

The lawmaker said he left the PDP because, “For over a year now, my party has been enmeshed in internecine crisis, which started during the congresses to elect officials.”

According to him, “As a matter of fact, there are divisions in the PDP from the national level between the Sheriff and the Makarfi factions, and also in my state between the Badung and Sango factions, which led to the sealing of the party’s secretariat in Jos.

“The party is divided in my local government down to the ward level with parallel structures. From the outset of the crisis in the party, I have refrained from joining any of the factions, hoping that good sense will prevail to usher in reconciliation in the party.

“However, the divisions are hardening, and on Saturday, 13th May, 2017, over 500 delegates from my federal constituency besieged my residence mandating, directing and authorizing that I quit the party. I am left with no option but to appraise my membership of the party and go along with my constituents,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Lalong later told journalists that Pwajok’s defection to the APC had opened the gate for other PDP members from the state to join APC.