Focus should be on performance, not defections – lawmaker

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The member of the House of Representatives representing AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency of the FCT, Chinedu Obika, has urged his constituents to focus on his performance over the last three years and not his recent switch of political parties.

Obika, who was elected into the House on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, earlier in the year defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Last week, he left the APC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The lawmaker, while reacting to criticisms trailing his cross-carpeting, said he left the LP owing to the leadership crisis in the party, which created an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Obika explained that he did not join the 2023 LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) because he was convinced that the latter would not get the party’s presidential ticket in the 2027 polls.

The lawmaker, who explained that he left the APC for the NDC because Obi joined the party, accused political opponents of sponsoring attacks against him over his defections.

According to him, the focus should be on his representation, noting that “the issue is not who crossed from one party to another. The issue should be what impact has been made on the lives of the people.”

He added, “Even Peter Obi has crossed several parties. President Bola Tinubu has also done same. What matters is identifying people who are committed to the betterment of the country.”