Valentine Ozigbo finally joins APC, as defection to ruling party continues to surge

Valentine Ozigbo, a governorship aspirant of the Labour Party (LP) in Anambra state, has joined the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Ozigbo joined the APC on Thursday alongside Nze Afam Okpalauzuegbu, the former Labour Party (LP) secretary, at their ward in Amesi area of the state.

Ozigbo ‘s defection to the ruling party appears to highlight a trend in the Labour since the 2023 election as captured in a post on social media by Henry Shield.

He said: “Bulama left LP for APC. Doyin Okupe left LP for APC. Several LP lawmakers have decamped to the APC. Val Ozigbo just left LP for APC today. Gets me thinking……… did the APC plant the LP as a vehicle to divide the PDP votes?”

Ozigbo, who is aspiring to contest the Anambra governorship election, resigned his membership from the LP on Wednesday.

The former chief executive officer (CEO) of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria said his decision to quit the party is in line with his “unwavering commitment” to the greater vision for the state.

He contested the 2021 governorship election in Anambra on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and lost to Chukwwuma Soludo, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

When he declared his intention to run for the governorship seat in Anambra in 2024, Ozigbo said he was in the race to “save the state from collapse”.

Reacting to the development, Bashir Ahmad, former special assistant on digital communications to Muhammadu Buhari, predicted that opposition party structures in the country will crumble before 2027.

“We welcome Valentine Ozigbo to our great party, the All Progressives Congress. It is now clear that even before the time of the actual battle, all the formations of the opposing sides will disappear,” Ahmad wrote on X.

The governorship election in Anambra has been fixed for November by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).