The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Henry
\nAjomale, on Wednesday said the party was stepping up arrangements to
\nwelcome a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and former
\nMinister of State, Musiliu Obanikoro, into its fold in a matter of weeks.
\nMr. Ajomale, who gave the hint in an interview with journalists in Ikeja,
\nsaid Mr. Obanikoro was coming along with other bigwigs of the state\u2019s PDP.
\nThe party chairman said Mr. Obanikoro and others had reached out to the
\nparty to resolve their issues with it and all was set for their formal
\ndefection.
\nHe said Wednesday\u2019s defection of PDP bigwig, Lukman Ajose, would open a
\nfloodgate of defections from the PDP to the APC in the coming days.
\n\u201cWe welcome Prince Ajose to the APC. His defection is a plus for us.
\n\u201cBut Ajose is not the only one joining us. Some of the bigwigs in the PDP,
\nincluding Obanikoro, will be joining us soon.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to give you a particular date but all I can tell you is all
\nis set,\u201d he said.
\nMr. Ajomale said the coming of Mr. Ajose into the party, as well as other
\nPDP members, would add value to the party and enhance its electoral
\nfortune.<\/p>\n
He said their coming was particularly gladdening as the party was The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Henry Ajomale, on Wednesday said the party was stepping up arrangements to welcome a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
\npreparing for the council polls and making early preparations for the
\ngeneral election in 2019.
\nAsked if the mass movement of PDP members into the party would not weaken
\nthe opposition and make the state a one party state, Mr. Ajomale answered
\nin the negative.
\nHe said since the PDP was not the only party in the opposition, it would
\nbe wrong to say the decimation of the party through defection would make
\nthe state a one party state.
\nThe party chairman also said the party was stepping preparations to secure
\npopular electoral victory for its candidates for the July 22<\/span><\/span> council poll.
\nHe said the party would ensure a level-playing field for all the aspirants
\nof the party.
\nMr. Ajomale described as false allegations in some quarters that the party
\nwas imposing candidates in some council areas.
\nThe chairman said those making the allegations were blackmailers who were
\nnot sure of themselves and their ability to win at the party primary.
\n\u201cIt is pure blackmail. There is nothing like that. Everybody will be
\nallowed a level playing ground,\u201d he said.
\nThe Lagos State independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has fixed July
\n22 for the council election and July 29<\/span><\/span> for run off.
\nMeanwhile, a credible source at the Lagos State House of Assembly told NAN
\nthat one of the remaining two PDP members in the assembly had already
\nindicated his intention to defect to the APC and his letter would likely
\nbe read at the next sitting of the lawmakers.
\nSix of the eight lawmakers who won their elections to the House on the
\nplatform of the PDP had earlier defected to the APC on Feb. 16<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"