The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos state, Moshood Salvador, has defected to the All Progressives Congress, with 15,000 members of the opposition party.
Salvador who has been the chairman of the party since 2017 announced his defection at his residence in Surulere, Lagos.
He said he was no longer comfortable with greedy leaders who are fond of telling lies and destabilising the party for their selfish interest.
Addressing some party members in Lagos, Salvador said the former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, frustrated him out of the party.
He said no few than 15,000 party members would move with him to the APC, noting that he could no longer be in the same party with George.
The former Lagos PDP chieftain maintained that George was the problem of the party, stressing that he framed him up over the slain chieftain of the party, Adeniyi Aborishade.
He said: “I am not happy that I am leaving the party. But since they don’t appreciate my efforts, I have to move to where my efforts will be recognised.
“The PDP National Chairman and other party chieftains at the national level have been calling me to discourage me from leaving, but there is no going back. I have to take my people to where they will make progress, so the APC is the only party that can guarantee this.”
PDP, Bode George react….
Reacting to the development, the former deputy national chairman, George said the party was not in crisis in Lagos State, but added that Salvador was free to move to any party, adding that Lagos PDP remains united, irrespective of the position of the minority in the party.
The former Deputy National Chairman said Salvador’s decision to move to another party was instructive, given the investigation about his alleged involvement in the murder of Aborishade.
He said: “Why is it now that the man is moving to another party? Why did he not provide security at the venue PDP was meeting when Adeniyi Aborishade was attacked and murdered?
“Those who are alleging that I am the cause of the crisis in Lagos are out of their minds. There is no crisis in Lagos; we are united in our resolve to advance the cause of the party.”
George said the killing of Aborisade was unfortunate. He called on party members to support the deceased family to overcome the pains.
He said the party would not relent in the efforts to get justice for the slain politician who was killed on July 21.
He said: “There is something terribly disturbing about our justice system. The rule of law is now being distorted, savaged, abused, treated with contempt, trampled upon with callous indifference.
“There is palpable uncertainty everywhere as no one is sure when and how right prevails over the festering wrongs, and how and the scale of justice prevails in sweeping latitude.
“Without the strict adherence to the sacrosanct largeness of the rule of law, without the natural guidance of the enlightened spectacle of societal thematic truth, we are all endangered, democracy itself becomes wobbly, teeters upon the cliffhanger of ruin.
“But this should never happen. We must all defend and protect this hard earned democracy. We can’t fold our hands and pretend a stoic indifference, while the normative essence of the democratic order is gradually being trampled and dragged in the mud.”
