Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
With the first round of the 2023 general election less than 10 days away, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Abia State has collapsed its structures and fused into the Labour Party(LP) saying that they were now supporting the party’s governorship candidate, Mr. Alex Otti.
The entire leadership of the Abia SDP led by the state chairman, Chuks Gold Abangowe, went to Otti’s campaign office in Aba and surrendered the party’s structure to LP, vowing to work for the success of the LP governorship flag bearer on March 11, 2023.
A press release from the Alex Otti Campaign Council said that the fusion of the two parties took place on Wednesday in Aba. All the State Working Committee (SWC) members of SDP, as well as all the executives from all the 17 local governments of Abia were said to have been involved in the combination of the two parties.
“Let it be on record, we’re doing what we’re doing based on conviction not persuasion. We know that with Dr. Alex Otti, Abia state shall be salvaged,” Abangowe said.
Though the governorship candidate of SDP in Abia, Mrs. Ngozika Johnson-Ogbuneke was not part of the defectors, her deputy, Dickson Asonye was present to renounce their ticket and render it invalid.
Asonye, who was part of the delegation numbering over 100, said there was no need for SDP to continue in the governorship race given that they had found in Otti a better candidate to move Abia forward.
“I will say today is the day we are officially handing over the SDP in Abia State to Dr. Alex Otti, the incoming Governor of Abia State,” he said.
“In him, I see capacity, I see confidence, I see capability, I see courage. That is what we need to salvage Abia State,” Asonye added.
The LP governorship flag bearer, who received the defected Abia SDP leaders and members with open arms, thanked them for their decision to join LP and assured them of full integration into the party.
He said that the new entrants into Abia LP has equal membership status with the existing members. To demonstrate this, Otti promptly announced the former SDP leaders as members of his campaign council.
The governorship candidate of LP lauded the newly admitted members for their show of confidence, solidarity and love for Abia State by joining LP.
According to him, “the full import of what happened here” was because “what it means is that the SDP is no longer in the race for governorship in Abia State”.
He said: “The governorship ticket of SDP is a joint ticket between my brother, Dickson Asonye, and the governorship candidate.
“Given that the deputy governorship candidate has given up and joined LP, the governorship candidate ceases to be a candidate. That is the state of the law,” he said.
