Former Reps, Bassey Etim, defects to APC with over 6000 supporters
Former two-term lawmaker, Bassey Etim, who represented Uyo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress Party (APC) with six thousand of his supporters.
The ceremony held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on the sideline of the inauguration of the APC state secretariat by the National Vice Chairman, South -South of the APC, Ntufam Hilliard Eta.
Also in attendance were the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nsima Ekere; the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters-Senate, Ita Enang, and top officials of the party from within and outside the state.
Etim, a senatorial aspirant in the 2015 election, said in his defection speech that his decision to jump ship was a protest against impunity.
“This occasion is not just another defection but a protest against impunity, a protest against turning a political party and the state apparatuses into a ‘one man show’, a protest against endemic lack of party democracy, and a protest against confused grand alliance”.
He lamented that the situation in the PDP has gone from bad to worse with dysfunctional ideologies and politicians desperate to occupy office at all cost.
“In the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the situation has gone from bad to worse with dysfunctional ideologies and politicians desperate to occupy office at all cost.
I dare say that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Having considered the situation in PDP, which is akin to that of a sinking ship, I and my supporters have therefore decided to join the sage boat.
I consulted widely and in the process many people resolved to follow me and defect to APC. Today I have with me over 2000 persons willing to join APC.
“Mr. Chairman, Akwa Ibom North East is the heart beat of Akwa Ibom Politics. The Senatorial District controls about 66% of the total votes in Akwa Ibom State.
Whenever a political party wins the Senatorial District, it wins the State. We therefore hold the key to any election victory. We are determined to make great impact in all the elections,” said Etim.
