Defection: 5 reasons why APC is better for Umahi – The governor of Ebonyi state, Eng. Dave Umahi who just won re-election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been rumored to defect to the All Progressive Congress (APC); this was alleged by the governorship candidate of the APC in the state for last Saturday’s election, Senator Sonni Ogbuoji.
Although this news is an unconfirmed rumor at best, but no one can deny the fact that the governor has high affinity for President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC. In so many occasions Governor Umahi has publicly declared his love the president and his progressive tendencies is not a secret.
In this article we will take a look at 5 reasons and gains of joining APC in the very near future:
1) To position self for Igbo presidency – there has been talks of Zoning the presidency to the south-east geo-political zone in 2023 and the region is in dare need of a national playa to fill the void left by outgoing governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha, who have fell out with APC, lost his state and his senatorial mandate being threatened making him a non-contender for the country’s top job. Umahi is a performer with a track record of infrastructural development in Ebonyi State. His resume’ is a force to reckon with and if he plays his politics in APC well he may stand a chance of clinching the party’s ticket in 2023.
2) To become the only south-east governor in the APC – There’s no doubt the APC is unpopular in the south-east going by the results of the presidential elections in 2015 and 2019, in both elections the APC have one governor in the region in the person of Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, haven now lost it in the just concluded governorship elections in Imo State to the PDP, the APC no longer have a governor in the region. Should Governor Dave Umahi eventually defect to the APC he will become the leader of the party in the south-east geo-political zone.
3) Work closely with his “boss” Buhari – love for Buhari is something Governor Dave Umahi has not hidden from the public even before the Presidential campaigns; he has consistently said that apart from his creator that Buhari is his only boss. He would love to say more than that should he defect to the APC. Defecting to the APC will not only give him the opportunity to express himself freely, he will equally have a better working relationship with the president all for the good of Ebonyi State.
4) To fully express his progressive tendencies – Governor Dave Umahi is more of a progressive than we know, his giant strides in Ebonyi State reminds one of Former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola in his best days as governor. Defection to the APC will do a whole lot of wonders for the people of Ebonyi State.
5) To play politics in the national stage – For most governors especially in the second term, they have their eyes set on a bigger aspiration, this is the reason Peter Obi defected from APGA to the PDP shortly after his reign as governor of Anambra State, the same reason is also why Governor Willie Obiano is romancing with President Buhari and the APC. The odds favours Dave Umahi in the APC should he eventually defect which will place him in the spotlight as the only APC governor in the south-east region.