Retired general, 500 others defect to APC in Cross River

More than 500 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Brigadier General Enang Ukagu (retd) have joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Nko in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State.

In the last couple of months, hundreds of PDP members and some prominent politicians have dumped the party for the rival APC, fuelling speculations that the central senatorial district will be another theatre of battle in the forthcoming August local government election in the state.

Fielding questions from newsmen at his ward on why he joined APC, Ukagu, who retired in March 2015 as the Commander of Amphibious Training School of the Nigerian Army in Calabar, said he choose APC to enable him contribute his quota to the change mantra of the present administration.

According to him, the APC has proved to Nigerians that the era of good governance and prudent management of the country’s resources was now, hence the need to support the administration in its drive to change the fortune of the country economy. Ukagu, who claimed he served in the military for 34 years, said he wants to contribute his quota and wealth of experience to the growth of the progressive party.

“I am entering politics to add value to my people and to give a voice to the voiceless. I joined politics so that I can contribute my quota to the development of this country and not because I am unemployed,’’ he said.

According to him, the growth and leadership of the APC are worth reckoning with, saying he was ready to engage in national discourse for the development of the country.

Ukagu, who was received into the party by Mr. James Ejom, chairman of APC in Nkolo/Ukpawen council ward, described APC as a party with an ideology meant for the prudent use of the country’s resources and for the benefit of all the citizens.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of APC in Cross River Central, Mr. Cletus Obun, said the APC came into power through the choice the people made.

Obun, a former lawmaker in the state House of Assembly between 199 and 2003, said Nigeria has begun to witness tremendous change in the hands of the present administration.

He advised Ukagu to bring his wealth of experience to bear in his political journey, saying the strength of politics was rooted in the `peoples vote’.