A former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, Dr David Emmanuel-Umbugadu, has said his decision to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was to deliver President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections in the state.
Umbugadu, who is the leader of opposition parties in the state and contested the Nasarawa governorship election in 2019 and 2023, made the statement while interacting with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
It would be recalled that Umbugadu had recently resigned from the APC in a letter addressed to the party chairman of Ika/Wangibi Ward in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, barely three weeks after joining the ruling party.
He lamented that he left the APC because the party denied his followers membership registration, leaving him with no option but to return to the PDP, where he has a large following.
According to him, he appealed to the party to open a portal to register his members who defected from the opposition party to join the APC, but all his appeals were ignored as the party denied him the opportunity.
Umbugadu, however, explained that with his capacity as a seasoned politician with followers across all sectors in the state, he could not be a king in his own house and later become a servant in another.
His words: “I didn’t request any position to be given to me in the party, not even ward chairman or secretary. I only requested the registration of my members, which they denied me, and that was the reason I actually left APC again.
“I said I cannot stay in a place where I and my people are not safe. And I can never be a king in my house and later become a servant in someone’s house.”
Earlier, the former state chairman of the PDP, Francis Orugo, who spoke on the position of the party, said the PDP remains the only leading opposition party that can challenge the ruling party in the state.
On rumours making the rounds that Umbugadu only appears during election periods, Orugo debunked the claims, saying the politician is active at all times and urged the public to disregard such speculations.
From Umar Muhammed
Follow us on:
