Ex-governor says defectors will return to PDP

For the sake of equity, power should remain in the Southern part of the country   till 2031, a   former Governor of Edo State,  Lucky Igbinedion, has said. 

Igbinedion, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and  Administrator  of  the WhatsApp platform  of former governors known as ‘Class of 1999’, also said he   foresees prominent politicians  defecting from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress(APC)   and other parties staging a comeback. 

He spoke with reporters after leading a team that included former Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Ikimi, on a condolence visit to   ex- Chief Whip of the Senate  Rowland Owie over the death of his wife, Helen.

Igbenedion,  who served as  governor the same time President Bola Tinubu was in charge of Lagos State, said he  would support any Southern candidate nominated by the PDP.  

He said: A Northerner was Nigeria’s president for eight years, between 2015 and 2023  So, in order to ensure equity, a Southerner must also be president of this country for eight years, till 2031.

“It is not ideal for Northerners to be agitating to be the president of Nigeria in 2027. They should wait till 2031, but I will support PDP’s presidential candidate from the South in 2027, who will be in office till 2031.”

He said: “Defection is  the  characteristic of the average Nigerian politician. I foresee the defectors coming back to the PDP or moving to another. 

“There was a time when PDP had the highest number of governors in Nigeria. It is now the turn of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which will be deflated soon.’’ 

  Igbinedion  described the Ex-Chief Whip of the Senate   as an ally whom he admired a lot, while stressing that to be marriage for 50  years was no  joke.

He said: “To lose a life partner can be very saddening. We came to condole with Senator Owie, and   to wish him continuous God’s strength.”