By Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki
The member representing Ezza South Constituency in Ebonyi state House of Assembly, Chris Usulor has said he won’t join Governor David Umahi in his planned defection to the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Usualor stated this during a live phone in programme, Political Voices on Dream FM Enugu monitored by The Nation.
According to him, though the governor’s agitations for the next president to come from southeast is germain and justified, such agitations can be done from the PDP and not necessarily from another party.
“Our governor called us and gave us the liberty to make our choice whether to join APC or remain in PDP. There was no compulsion, it was a decision we are to take on our own without any influence.
“But the striking thing there is that the reasons he adduced is something any south easterner should put in his heart. The marginalisation of the southeast should be key in our mind.
“The zoning of the president to the southeast should be key in our heart. That is what he is agitating for, that is what all of us are agitating for,” he did.
He added: “That not withstanding, personally I took a stand that having been in PDP since 1999, I find it difficult to move to another party this time around. I think that agitation, I believe within me, will be done in PDP too,” he said.
The three term Lawmaker urged all political parties in the country to zone the 2023 presidential position to the southeast in the interest of fairness, equity and justice.
“And I strongly believe that with what is happening in Ebonyi state, the leadership of PDP at the national will think twice to zone the president to the southeast.
“Also the APC will also think twice if they have any plan to zone the position out of southeast. I
think all political parties in the country should zone that position to the southeast in the interest of fairness, justice and equity,” he said.
Mr Usulor said no lawmaker has officially moved with the governor but the Lawmakers gave the PDP ultimatum to zone the presidency to the southeast which was not done.
“Right now nobody has moved with the governor because nobody has officially decamped from the PDP. We are all still in PDP. But we had a press conference where we gave the PDP leadership seven days ultimatum to zone the president to the southeast which they didn’t comply with.
“Like I said earlier, it is an individual decision, nobody is forcing anybody. If you feel the demands of our leader in the part is right you can join him to wherever he is going to provided he is pushing for the betterment of the Southeast.
“But if you feel you can make that change from where you are then you can remain. Right now there is no specific number of those moving out of PDP till everybody is finally gone them. We will now know those who moved and those remaining. But for me I am still in PDP,” he said.
“Naturally when there is a little crisis or division or anything that could pull a political party down what happens is that the leaders and stakeholders will come together and fashion a way of pushing the party up.
“PDP cannot die in Ebonyi state, it is very rooted in the state. It has been dominating every political position here in the state.
“Like I said earlier, I am not sure that PDP will zone the president to the southeast. Zoning has not occured but our governor, who is the leader of the party in the state, maybe what they discussed up there we are not privy to it.”
“But from my own assessment, no zoning has happened and we will keep agitating till PDP will zone the position to the southeast. PDP can never die in Ebonyi state and we will keep making that possible,” he said.
Mr Usulor noted that so far there is no evidence or guarantee that the APC will zone the presidential position to the southeast.
“Defection is constitutional, right to freedom of association. But when you are defecting from one political party to another, you should be able to give people convincing reasons.
“From reactions, the people are asking, if we move to the APC, are they going to zone the presidency to the southeast? That has not been answered,” he said.
The lawmaker also called on leaders from the southeast to come together and push for the zoning of the position to the southeast.
“The best option is that Leaders of the southeast should push for this position to be zoned to the southeast, that is what other people in other zones do.
“I want to say with apology that our leaders failed us because they would have galvanised this things so that the rotation of the presidency will get to the southeast because right now every zone has had their turn except the southeast and that is because our leaders failed to do what was necessary to achieve this,” he concluded.
