Abia State governor, Theodore A Orji who announced his resignation from the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) on Tuesday, yesterday formally joined the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

His Special Adviser Print Media, Joshua Ogbonnaya, said in Umuahia that the governor would pursue all subsequent political ambitions on the platform of APGA.

With the exit of Mr Kalu from PPA, the party has lost the two governors elected on its platform in 2007. Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim, had left earlier to join the Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr Ogbonnaya said Mr Orji has lost confidence in the national executive led by Larry Essien, which recently summoned him to Abuja to explain his achievement in office, thus exposing the ignorance of the party leaders about the situation in Abia State.

He said that the invitation was not only embarrassing to the governor but to the entire people of Abia State and shows that the state has no future in PPA.

Mr Orji said he joined APGA because it was more democratic, more focused and accommodating, and would ensure a better platform for the development of the state. The APGA leadership, including its national chairman, Victor Umeh; the chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and the governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi would be in Umuahia on Friday to formerly welcome Mr Orji into the party.

Reacting to the declaration, the State APGA Chairman, Longman Nwachukwu said Mr Orji’s decision to join the party was timely because the people were dissatisfied with the antics of the PPA. He said it was good riddance to bad rubbish and the state would now experience a revolution as the governor changes party.

Meanwhile, Sani Shinkafi, the National Secretary of APGA, in an interview with journalists in Abuja yesterday said the party has not been briefed by the state branch of the party concerning Mr. Orji’s defection.

“We only read about governor Orji’s defection to APGA on the pages of newspapers. I was not part of the decision that admitted Orji to APGA, I only read it on the pages of the dailies,” he said.

The Kalu factor

Mr Orji has had a stormy relationship with his predecessor and sponsor, Orji Uzor Kalu who is also the chairman of the PPA board of trustees. The governor has also been fighting a losing battle with crime in the state which has become the kidnap capital of Nigeria.

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Abia Chapter, on Wednesday hailed the resignation Mr Orji from the PPA.

Emeka Nwachukwu, Abia CNPP Chairman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the governor took the decision to liberate the state from a long standing bondage, which, he said, had impacted negatively on the state’s economy.

Mr Nwachukwu said the high-handedness of some cabals in the PPA informed the decision. He said Mr Orji gave enough room for reconciliation, but that some elements were bent on tarnishing his image.

“The governor noticed that he shared different ideology with some members of the PPA and as a straight forward person he was also challenged by some factors he could not compromise,” he said.

Mr Nwachukwu, also a former commissioner in the state, said the decision to quit the party would not affect the governor’s re-election bid as residents of the state were behind him.

“We in CNPP are solidly behind him because he has shown unequalled commitment to deliver the state from bondage,” he said.