[dropcap]S[/dropcap]enator Stella Oduah has dumped the All Progressives’ Grand Alliance (APGA) for a return to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) just three months after she went in the opposite direction.
The representative of Anambra North senatorial district had announced her initial defection from the PDP to the APGA on June 6, 2018 and termed it as a “homecoming” to a party whose ideals resonate with her philosophy. She noted that her heart has always been with the party and that it only needed to provide the right structure before she could join.
However, just three months later, the former Minister of Aviation has dumped the party for a return to the PDP, announcing that her ideological expectations were a mirage. She accused the party of lacking internal democracy and said the PDP remains the proper vehicle with which she can fulfill the mandate of her constituency.
In a statement released by her media office on Friday, September 21, 2018, she said, “Politics has always been about ideology and delivering service to the people for me, because I believe leadership is all about solving problems.
“Political platforms must afford members unfettered opportunity to participate in the electoral process and to solve the problems of their community, constituency and state.
“I joined APGA because I thought it had sound ideological leanings native to Igboland. But my ideological expectations were a mirage. I discovered that internal democracy, which will guarantee justice, fairness and equity, was also not in practice in the party.
“After due consultations and with respect to my religious beliefs, I announce that PDP remains the vehicle through which I will keep fulfilling my mandate to the people of Anambra North.”
Senator Oduah was appointed the Minister of Aviation in 2011 by then-president, Goodluck Jonathan, who removed her in 2014 amid a string of controversies and scandals, most notably the N255 million purchase of two bullet-proofs cars by an agency under her supervision which was discovered to have violated Nigeria’s public procurement and appropriation laws.