Valentine Ozigbo, a former candidate for governor of Anambra State, has revealed why he switched from the Labour Party (LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said in a statement on đť•Ź that his passion for Anambra State was the driving force behind his painful decision to defect.
Ozigbo admitted that he felt deceived in the LP, but he also acknowledged the disappointment and rage that followed his departure.
He claimed to have had huge grassroots support inside the Obidient movement and to have been totally devoted to the LP during its peak of popularity in Anambra State.
Ozigbo stated that he received over 90% of the votes in two different surveys on preferred party and governorship candidates, and that independent online polls at the time showed strong popular support for his candidacy.
However, he claimed that his desire was thwarted by internal treason and sabotage inside the LP leadership.
“Many people have asked: ‘Val, why did you leave the Labour Party?'” he stated. “Why APC?” Some were curious, some were disappointed, and some were furious when they asked. I comprehend each of the three. However, context is necessary for truth.
“Unlike anything I had experienced in public life, I saw a degree of betrayal and sabotage within the top leadership of the Labour Party (not the grassroots).” At the leadership level, a concerted attempt was undertaken to prevent my candidacy at all costs.
He asserted that the party’s officials organized an opaque procedure instead of guaranteeing justice.
“All I asked for was a transparent process, a level playing field, not a coronation. However, what transpired exposed an unsettling truth: the identical culture we denounced in other parties had established itself there, and in certain instances, much more deeply, he said.
The former LP candidate pointed out that the party’s internal flaws were revealed by his exit, which ultimately destroyed the party’s structure in the state.
“I had long realized that in the process of chasing me out, they ended up crippling the party itself, out of selfishness and shortsightedness,” he stated. “I could have stayed to continue the fight from within.”
Ozigbo explained that the ruling party was the only remaining viable platform to oppose the current Anambra administration.
