A former member of the House of Representatives for Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Olusegun Williams, has defected from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Williams, a two-term federal lawmaker, announced his defection on Monday in Abeokuta while being received into the PDP alongside his supporters.
Speaking at the event, Williams said he was returning to the PDP, which he described as his original political home.
The former lawmaker said he had seen it all in the APC and was in a better position to explain the party.
“My friends and colleagues counselled me then that Segun, go and join PDP, PDP is the only party. But for some reasons I found myself in APC.
“I won't say too many words today because my boss has said most of it. But we've been there, we've seen, we've conquered. There is no one in APC today that can explain APC more than me. When it was nothing, we built it up, I have witnesses," he said.
Williams lamented that politics in the APC had become like a cult, dominated by proxies.
"There are times I will have sleepless nights and think, is this how to do politics like cult? It has now gotten to talks of proxy, proxy and proxies," he added.
He appreciated the governorship candidate of the PDP, Oladipupo Adebutu, and other party leaders for making his defection possible.
According to him, his decision followed a phone call from Adebutu inviting him to join the PDP, which he accepted after consulting his people.
Williams urged members of the PDP to work together to move the party forward, expressing confidence that the party would win the next governorship election in the state.
“Don’t be scared. They said we’re not going to vote?, they are lying, we are going to vote and be elected as the governor. The way we have been doing it in the past that’s the way we’ll continue to do it,” he added.
Speaking earlier, while welcoming Williams into the party, Adebutu said political parties should be allowed to present their scorecards to the people and seek their support through the democratic process, rather than attempting to weaken opponents.
He said attempts to frustrate their candidates would not stop the party and its activities across the state.
"Today, information is widely available, and people can see what is happening. Naturally, these things affect us, but we will resist them," Adebutu said.
Meanwhile, the party’s candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo, urged members to intensify grassroots mobilisation to garner more support for the PDP and to remain loyal to the party even when offered gifts by other political parties.
