Former Speaker of House of Representative, Mrs. Patricia Etteh, has defected to the All Progressives Congress.

This is contained in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Tuesday by the media aide to the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon.

Etteh, who became the Speaker of the lower legislative chamber on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party led thousands of her supporters in Irewole, Ayedaade and Isokan Federal constituency in Osun to her new party.

The former speaker, after declaring for the APC at a rally led by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, canvassed support for candidates of her new party in the general elections holding next week.

Etteh told the crowd at the rally that she decided to join the APC because of the party’s progressive policies and because of the party’s love for the masses.

She commended Aregbesola for the positive change she said the governor had brought to the state in the past four and a half years. The ex-Speaker noted that the transformation which the state had undergone under the APC was glaring.

‎Aregbesola while admitting the former Speaker and her supporters from Ikoyi, Apomu, Ikire, Araromi Owu, Orile Owu and Gbongan‎ stated that, everyone in the local government areas and the whole state should vote for all the candidates of APC in the general elections.

Aregbesola emphasised that the victory of August 9 governorship election in the state would be boosted with the party securing all the seats available both in upper, lower and the Legislative chambers.

He pointed out that change would only come when the APC presidential candidate, Maj.- Gen. Muhammadu Buhari ( retd.), won and sworn into power by May 29.

He said, “February 14 and 28 elections are significant for the change that Nigerians have been clamouring for, we need not say much. Our good work has been speaking for us, we plan do more than what we have done in the last four years.

“We can only do more with your support by voting all our party members in the forthcoming elections. I also want to use this opportunity to thank you for standing behind us during the last August 9 governorship election.

“We are here again to ask for your votes for our presidential candidate and every other candidate in your Federal constituency. We must show to the world that Osun is completely APC.”

‎He noted that for 16 odd years under the PDP, Nigeria had not gained anything meaningful and enduring.

“Our experience was a bad one with the federal government when we joyfully approached the President with the free offer of train coaches to the state from the Chinese government.

“The offer was given to us shortly after we came into office. Till date, the President failed to even acknowledge the application. All these will stop when the APC comes into power this year,” he added.

He charged people to go all out to collect their permanent voter cards at the INEC designated collection centres for them to be able to vote for change.

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