A former Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Mohammed Sidi, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sidi joined the ruling party on Monday along with his supporters in Kaduna State, a day after he announced his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He led other members of his campaign organisation to the Government House in Kaduna, where they were formally received into the party by the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
The former NEMA DG informed the governor at a meeting that he consulted with his political associates and supporters before arriving at the decision to join the APC.
He explained that his decision was a result of the purposeful leadership that has been displayed by the APC administration in the state.
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Sidi assured Governor El-Rufai that he and his supporters would work for the victory of the APC at the polls on March 9.
The governor, on his part, commended the new members for the bold step they have taken by joining the progressive party.
He also assured them that they would be given equal treatment as other old members of the party.
Governor El-Rufai stressed that his administration has been fair and balanced in the distribution of infrastructure and appointments since it came into office in 2015.
He was, therefore, confident that the people of Kaduna would massively vote for him based on the performance of his administration.
Among those that defected along with Sidi included former commissioners, local government chairmen, and other PDP chieftains from the 23 local government areas of the state.
The former NEMA boss was a PDP governorship aspirant in Kaduna before his defection on Sunday, coming just a few days to the governorship and houses of assembly elections
In a statement by his spokesperson, Ahmed Maiyaki, he had said the decision to join the APC was due to what he described as the manipulation of PDP primaries in 2018.
Sidi alleged that the exercise was characterised by impunity, lack of internal democracy, and intimidation of party delegates by the leadership of the party.
He had also accused the PDP leadership in Kaduna of failing to genuinely engage all aspirants towards consultation and reconciliation, a task he said was important to help the party forge ahead.
See the photos of the meeting at the Government House below;
