The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) says it will no longer allow itself to be used by politicians to gain entrance into the political arena, only to be dumped when they are elected into public offices.
The party is condemning what it described as the arbitrary and unjustifiable jumping of political ship by politicians at all levels in the country.
In recent times, due to its seeming poor appeal at the national level, APGA has been used by several politicians to get into power, only to cross-carpet to other political parties afterward.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TNC correspondent in Awka on Friday, the APGA National Chairman, Barr. Sly Ezeokenwa noted that the malaise has made his party, particularly look like a mere political breeding ground, an incubator for politicians in various parts of the country.
Noting that APGA has always won elections in virtually all parts of the country, Ezeokenwa regretted that instead of staying to build the party, politicians end up jumping ship into another political party the moment they are sworn in.
He said, “APGA has won elections in Imo, Taraba, Nassarawa, Benue, Abia, etc but most of them quickly jump into other parties barely a week or two after being sworn in.
“The unwholesome conduct has made APGA look simply like a mere breeding ground and a political incubator.”
Lamenting further, the national chairman said the ignoble act has portrayed the political class to be dominated by people of no ideology, food-is-ready characters, and persons without conscience.
This, he insisted must stop.
The party, he pointed out, may be forced to sponsor a fresh bill to checkmate the act.
When reminded that the beneficiaries of the arbitrary carpet crossings are the major political parties that were often the ruling party or the main opposition party, Ezeokenwa noted that his party may pursue the fight alongside other parties.
Consequently, he disclosed, APGA may insist that such officeholders should step down from their positions or wait till the particular tenure elapses before going to another party.
“APGA,” he revealed, “has completed arrangements to begin digitalizing her membership registers across the country.
“the party has taken the initiative as the first party in Nigeria to digitalize the register of its members across the country.
“We want to lead the way for others to copy. The idea has a lot of benefits and simplifies accreditation of members,” he said.
