A frontline member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Niger State and former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in the State, Hon. Jonathan Tsado Vatsa over the weekend received no fewer than about 120 defectors from the state’s chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his Gulu, Vatsa ward, in Lapai local government area of the state.
The defectors who were mostly youths and women, said they decided to switch allegiance from the main opposition party in the state and joined the ruling APC because the former commissioner has always identified with them cordially despite their different political affiliations.
Recall that the former commissioner was in his constituency during the recent Eid -El-Kabir Sallah celebration where he doled out unspecified sums of money (cash) to the people regardless of their political parties and urged them to put party politics behind them, especially now that the elections were over and joined hands with the Governor Umaru Bago led- administration in the state to build a new Niger State.
The defectors who were received at the APC ward secretariat in Gulu Vatsa on Saturday said they were satisfied with the performance of Governor Bago in the last year in office as the governor of the State and thereby decided to join the train.
One of the defectors who spoke on behalf of other decampees particularly commended the governor for addressing the security challenges in their area and the return of peace to Gulu Vatsa after years of banditry and other criminal activities.
According to him, their decision to join the ruling APC was not for any material gain, “but because we are happy with the performance of the governor in the last year in office and the relationship that the former commissioner has kept with everyone in the community regardless their political party differences.
“We will ensure that more people join the party in our community so that there will be no opposition here. That will attract more development to this community,” he added.
Welcoming the defectors, the former commissioner said he was happy that the people appreciated the good works that the APC government is doing in the state, stressing that “even the blind man will know that the last one year has been eventful in the state.”
He assured the defectors that they will not regret their decision to join the ruling party in the state, adding that “the new Niger agenda of the governor is real and not just a mere pronouncement”.
He urged other political parties in the state to adopt Governor Bago as a unique Governorship candidate for the 2027 governorship election in the state, pointing out that the governor would almost secure the second term in office if he succeeded in all his aggressive transformation of the state all spheres of life and at all levels by the grace of God.
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