The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia State, has lampooned Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and urged him to “stop misleading the public with fake defections orchestrated to massage his dwindled ego before the Presidency and his Party at the national level”.
The Publicity Secretary of PDP in Abia State, Chief Fabian Nwankwo, in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday described the “Senate Chief Whip’s penchant for receiving well known APC members in his private residence in Igbere, Abia State, that cannot contain more than 50 people at a time, only to use a willing section of the media to make some outlandish claims of ‘thousands of PDP members’ defecting to APC as not only deceitful, mischievous and evil but an attitude which Abians have always known and associated the Senator with”.
“We challenge Orji Uzor Kalu to make available pictures of the ‘thousands’ of PDP members he purported to have defected to APC in his residence because the pictures being circulated in Abia by his cronies do not make up to twenty people despite the fact that the faces in the pictures are also well known APC members.
“While we will not engage Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in his game of deceit and playing up fraudulent numbers, we urge the Presidency not to allow itself to be hoodwinked by the Senator who is so desperate to please it by hook or crook just to shore up his already battered image”, the spokesman said.
The Abia PDP spokesperson therefore called on “Abians to ignore the current charade of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and his cohorts and continue to support Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and PDP in their giant strides in the overall development of Abia. After all, our people are wiser today and will demand evidence of democracy dividends in Abia and elsewhere before joining any political party!
“Let us remind these merchants of fake defections that politics need not be about self and family alone. Ndi Abia will never forget that it was the PDP that gave Ndi Igbo Senate President several times, its first ever Chief of Army Staff who happens to be from Abia, its first ever Inspector General of Police, Minister of Finance, CBN Governor, Deputy Senate President, etc. It was also the PDP that changed the status of Enugu Airport to an international one, the first and only international airport in the entire South East.
“But it is obvious that the APC is yet to trust us enough for any serious position not even the Head of Peace Corps. Abians in their wisdom cannot be deceived into abandoning the PDP especially at a time the Party is gaining more grounds than ever due to the sterling performance of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu”, he said.
The PDP also warned its members who allow themselves to be used for deceitful photo opportunities by desperate opposition elements to desist from such acts or risk appropriate sanctions.
