From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) suffered a major blow in Abia State as 25,000 of its members, drawn from 184 wards, defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a development many have described as one of the largest political realignments in the state in recent times.

Receiving the defectors yesterday in Abuja, SDP National Chairman, Shehu Gabam, said with the latest development, the party would take over Abia State in subsequent elections.

He added that plans were underway to establish a robust framework aimed at strengthening the party’s presence in Abia State. According to him, the party has drawn valuable lessons from the missteps of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), positioning itself to emerge as a formidable force in the 2027 general elections.

“Looking at the political environment, you decided to join the SDP which is a leading political party in the country. You are welcome to your home.

“I have listened to your leader’s presentation. I want to assure you that we will work together. We will take over the Abia State Government House. We will develop a working mechanism.

“You have 25,000 members from APGA. We are certain that your joining SDP will strengthen and recalibrate the party.

“SDP has different policies and processes unlike APC and PDP. We have taken advantage of the crisis in the two parties,” he said.

He charged the members to properly register in their wards to avoid any litigations either by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or aggrieved members.

He said: “INEC does not recognize a vacuum, and our party does not recognise independent candidates. Now that you have paid a courtesy visit, we want you to register at your various wards and states.

“We will send it to INEC, because if we go to INEC, it will ask for the register of our membership. We will write a cover letter to INEC. The INEC of those days is not the same INEC today. Everything has been digitised.

“All parties have been directed by INEC to submit updated registers of their members. If you are not a member of a political party, you cannot contest for any position. We guide our members to follow the right path.”

On his part, leader of the delegation, Azubuike Chijioke, said they were not pleased with the leadership style of APGA in Abia State.

He added: “We, the mainstream faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State, have elected to align with your good selves and formally join SDP, moving with over 25,000 of our current members and followers across Abia State.

“This has been informed by your iconic leadership and growing influence and acceptance in all the states of the Federation.

“We are certain, with no equivocation, that our alignment will upscale and enhance the fortunes and successes of our union in Abia State, resulting in significant electoral victories in the state.

“We feel certain that our joint collaboration will strengthen and recalibrate the existing capabilities of the party both at the state and national levels.

“Having manifested such interest, we take the liberty to collapse our structure from the wards through the Local Government Areas, Zones, up to the State, where we already have vibrant and tested party leaders and executive members.

“We offer to take over the leadership of SDP in Abia State, for a robust political re-engineering to the mutual benefit of all SDP stakeholders in the state and at the national level.

“It may interest you to know that we are fully represented in all the 184 wards and 17 Local Governments in Abia State, with functional leadership. We also have functional offices in the wards and Local Governments. In addition to these, we have our state office at Umuahia, the state capital.”