Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress and member of the National Working Committee, Muritala Ajaka, has officially dumped the ruling party.
Ajaka was one of the four aggrieved aspirants who lost the ticket to former Auditor General of Local Governments, Ahmed Ododo, at the APC governorship primary in Kogi State.
Ododo polled 78, 704 votes to beat six other contestants including Ajaka and Senator Smart Adeyemi, who came seventh with 311 votes.
The loss created a division among the aspirants and further divided party loyalists in the state, with Adeyemi accusing the Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello, of imposing his cousin on the people.
Ajaka accused Bello of consistently marginalising and disrespecting the Igala since he assumed office.
Having failed to pick the ticket ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the state, the deputy spokesman wrote a letter to APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on Wednesday to inform him that he has officially dumped the party.
Although he failed to mention his next destination, sources revealed before his official resignation that the young politician was adopted by the Social Democratic Party as its governorship candidate.
Meanwhile, the former Director of Media of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kogi State, Onibiyo Dayo, Folunsho Mamood, Stephen Bankole and other party members who recently resigned, have been received by Governor Yahaya Bello.
According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Onogwu Mohammed, on Saturday.
He said that during the meeting, Governor Bello expressed no surprise regarding their departure from a struggling party and emphasised the need to accommodate them in the progressive movement of the All Progressives Congress.
Meanwhile, youth and student bodies in the state, including the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Youth Parliament in Kogi, National Association of Kogi State Students, National Association of Nigeria Students, and Association of Nigeria Female Students, have endorsed Ododo for the November governorship election.
The governor thanked the youth for their unwavering support and
urged the citizens to join forces with the government in confronting those who had been plundering the state’s resources for personal gain.
