2023 Kogi Central Senatorial Race; Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan Leads Thousands of Supporters to Join PDP
Political activities in the central Senatorial District of Kogi State on Saturday 19th March 2022 witnessed a new twist ahead of the 2023 general election,
As the Osasafe of Okpameri and Ohi-Ogu of Ebiraland, Chief Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti-Uduaghan, dumped the Social Democratic Party, SDP to join the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.
Natasha left the Social Democratic Party with hundreds of the party’s chieftains and thousand of supporters as she take on the course to revive the hope of common Nigerians in 2023.
Speaking at the occasion of her declaration as a member of the People’s Democratic Party, Natasha appreciates her following for their continuous and unwavering support and recounted how things have gone within the three years since the beginning of her political career.
“It’s been three years that we gathered on political ground, and in these three years, many things have changed. Unfortunately, for the worse, the hunger in our land have increased, and hungry of course, unemployment, and a lot of other misfortune. But one thing that we have not let go of is our love for each other and our strong partnership towards our vision.”
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan reminded the PDP executives that were present in her country home Ihima, that she and her followers decamping from SDP to the PDP remained Social Democrats at heart.
In her words; “To our party executives, even though we become members of the People’s Democratic Party, we are still Social Democrats at heart. That means the principles that define social democracy still abide with us. And because the slogan of our party, the PDP from today hencefort stands_’power to the people’, that means we expect to generously accept us under their umbrella.
“If the power belongs to the people, then they understand the dynamics of human race especially Nigerians, Kogites and Kogi Central. They know that our individuality would be respected, appreciated and our dreams honored.
“As we step foot in PDP, we are there to strengthen the vision, strengthen the party, and our collectiveness will have no greater small measure to national growth.”
She said , moving her structure to PDP was not borne out of misgivings with her esrrhwile party, but to align forces with PDP which has wider reach in order to send the APC out of power before wrecking more havoc on the state .
She lamented that the state with its abundant human and economic resources ought to be a giant in the comity of states, but became a laughing stock due to bad governance by the ruling APC, which has hoisted hunger, depravity, depression, infrastructural decay and percentage salary payments.
While allaying the fears of crisis in her former party , disclosed that she moved with the state chairman Alhaji Mouktar Atima and the secretary and others in order to fortify the PDP to ensure her winning the forthcoming senatorial election.
She solicited the support of all well meaning party members to see the defection as a service to the people of the senatorial District and the entire state.
In a well attended decamping ceremony held at her country home of Ihima in Okehi LGA, the National Chairman of PDP Dr. Iyorsha Ayu described the defector as a big fish and an amazon whose entry into the party has signified the death of APC in the state.
The Chairman who was represented by his National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyawu at the crowd studded ceremony, said , by pulling this big fish and an amazon into the party marks a new beginning for the PDP in rekindling its winning streak in the state.
Recalled that Barrister Natasha Akpoti a frontline and senatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party SDP in the 2019 election was a thorn in the flesh of APC.
Dr. Ayu, who commended the people of the state for their resilience in standing against the misfortune of the ruling APC saying, with the caliber of defectors , the people have resolved to reclaim the state.
He noted with disqust the misery that the people have been subjected to in the last six years of this administration, and advise for collective determination to use the ballot to restore their dignity.
He disclosed that, although, Natasha had defected three months ago, today’s ceremony was a formal declaration to join the party in order to contribute her quota, to the development and growth of PDP and the state.
He called on the electorate especially those from the kogi central to team up with her to rescue the state from the jaws of maladministration and assured of PDP’s readiness to win all segments of the forthcoming general election.
In their seperate speeches, the state chairman of the party , Engineer Sam Ohuotu, former governors, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and Captain Idris Wada, a member of the House of representatives, Hon. T.J. Yusuf and Zonal chairman of PDP commended her courage and doggedness to restore dignity of her people to use PDP platform to move the state forward.
They urged the people to close political ranks for the task of winning all the segments of the election, reminding them, that Okehi LGA has remained with the party since 1999.