Frank Nweke Jr., a former minister of information and communications, explained why he defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Nweke claimed in an interview with The Punch that the reason he switched from the PDP to the APGA was because the South-East had not reaped any democratic dividends from the main opposition party.
The PDP, he continued, has not made any demonstrable improvements to the welfare and advancement of the people of Enugu State, and the performance of the Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led administration has been appalling.
Nweke, an APGA candidate for governor in Enugu, declared that he is interested in joining any political party that provides good government, emphasizing that the PDP did not do so while the party held national power.
He said: “Let me remind us that politics is about interests. Whether you’re looking at it from an individual or group perspective. My interest in belonging to a political party is good governance. Nationally, in the nearly 24 years of fidelity to the PDP, the South-East has not benefitted from the investments in infrastructure and other improvements commensurate with our support for the party.
“At the state level, the leadership also has not made any verifiable improvement to the welfare and progress of the people. The level of bad governance is unprecedented; the level of corruption is unprecedented. The level of ineptitude that has been displayed in the last seven years is totally unprecedented. The level of underdevelopment that has taken place here is unprecedented.
“So, the question then is, if you’re interested in good governance as I am, if you are interested in ethical leadership as I am, what business do you have with such a political party and what business do you have with the individuals representing this party? My answer is that on a personal note, I have no interest in such a political party and the people that represent them.
“Is it the All Progressives Congress? On what basis does one want to support the APC that has divided this country in an unprecedented way under which insecurity has thrived freely? What is the basis for supporting a party that has literally looked at one part of the country and called them names and derided them and their culture?
Ultimately, I had to look at these interests in politics and I felt that APGA, whose development philosophy is founded on the principle of shared prosperity, is where I would like to be. The slogan of this party is ‘Be your brother and your sister’s keeper’.
“This is why I chose APGA. I believe it represents the interest of the people. I believe that its manifesto and its founding principles have taken cognizance of what I call the social cosmology of the South-East. That is why I chose APGA and I am confident and convinced in my spirit that I made the right choice.”
