It was jubilation galore for the Action Congress of Nigeria in Oyo State as two members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and Accord Party in the state House of Assembly left their former parties and declared for it.
With the development, membership of ACN in the House of Assembly, which used to be 15, has now increased to 17, with the PDP and AP having 10 and six members respectively, thus giving ACN the total control of the House.
In a rather surprising move, the two lawmakers – Hon. Mathew Abioye representing Ogo Oluwa/Surulere Constituency and Hon. Temitope Olatoye (aka Sugar) from Lagelu Constituency – announced their decampment on the floor of the House on Tuesday.
While Abioye, elected on the platform of the PDP is a two-term member of the House, Olatoye, of the Accord Party, was voted to the House in 2011.
The lawmakers, who were followed by hundreds of their supporters who waved brooms, the insignia of the ACN, after their declaration for the ruling party at the House of Assembly, thereafter trooped to the Governor’s Office to declare their loyalty to Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
Spotting uniform ankara that had been specifically chosen for the day, the whole of the Governor’s Office was electrified by their different songs, which they sang welcoming the two decampees “to where they naturally belong.”
The governor, while receiving them in his office, expressed happiness that the lawmakers had thought it wise and expedient to join the ACN, a development he said had put the ruling party in a vantage position in the House.
He said: “It’s a very happy thing for us to have very notable members from PDP and Accord joining ACN in the House of Assembly. What does this mean? One, we are now in the majority in the House of Assembly. Two, these are foundation and senior members of the House.
“For them to have joined us is a reflection of their own wisdom and foresight, and it is a confirmation of the fact that ACN as a party is now doing well in Oyo State. No other party, no matter their machinations, will change the progress that we have already started in Oyo State.”
The Speaker of the House, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu, while describing the decampment as a welcome development, expressed the optimism that more of the lawmakers in the opposition parties would still join ACN.
Abioye hinged his decision to leave his former party on the fact that PDP had become a divided house, adding that the party produced parallel executives from two different congresses.
“PDP is a divided house. I have decided to leave the divided house to join a united house, which is the progressive party, ACN,” the lawmaker said.
He also said that he took the decision to complement the efforts of Ajimobi “who has been doing very well through massive infrastructural development to change the face of Oyo State.”
Also commenting, Olatoye said that he decided to join the ruling party in the interest of his people, majority of whom he said had embraced ACN.