Akwa Ibom assembly aspirant dumps PDP, picks ADC form, cites imposition

The Akwa Ibom House of Assembly aspirant, Mr. Sunday Afiko, who was in consultation to contest on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has finally decamped to African Democratic Congress (ADC).

He has also purchased the party’s nomination form.

Afiko made this known to newsmen while playing host to the National Youth Body of ADC led by Mr. Maurice Ebam, the National Youth Leader in Uyo on Friday.

He decried the high level of imposition and godfatherism hampering PDP in the state which has blocked youths the opportunities to showcase their potential in leadership.

“My aspiration as a young man is mainly because I have seen the suffering of the youths and I have seen the suffering of the people mostly from my marginalised part of the world, Eastern Obolo.

“The Obolo people in Akwa Ibom State have been so marginalized even by their very dear party whom we have served for the past years. We have been in this party together, we have supported the party and voted for people but we don’t have anything to show for it.

“Recently, I told myself, I wouldn’t want to pick the ticket in the PDP because this party has castrated itself after the interest of godfatherism.

“If the state governor could singlehandedly anoint a candidate to be his successor and the next governor, what then can they not do in other political positions?” he queried.

Afiko said his ambition was about the masses, urging the people to vote for someone who can speak for them and not someone that will keep silent when needs arise.

“I told myself that if a person of my kind gets to confront these kind of persons in PDP it may not go down well.

“I did so many consultations across the party and I discovered that the party has no solution for the problem of Nigeria as there is no inclusiveness, no hope for youths to participate in politics but only to push youth into taking fetish oath and all sorts of things.

“I weep for the system we have in PDP because when a young man comes out with aspiration, nobody believes that he has what to offer and provide a good leadership but what they lookout is, how much he can land after taking, how much is in your envelope. I have spent close to one million naira doing consultations,” Afiko added.

Earlier, Ebam said they were in the state to show solidarity for the aspirant who has formally joined the party, adding that his actions demonstrate tenacity and sagacity.

He called on people with the intellectual capacity to join ADC to see how to rescue the country and states from bad leadership, stable the economy, and gear up development.