Over 5,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State Friday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as Governor David Umahi kicked-off his re-election campaign.

The defectors also donated a brand new Sienna bus to Governor David Umahi in support of his second term campaign across the 13 area councils of the state.

The state Deputy Governor, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, announced the decision of the decampees during the flag-off of the PDP campaign held at Nwanoyo mini township stadium in Ikwo LGA.

Speaking on behalf of the defectors, the Ebonyi Central Senatorial candidate of APC in 2015, Chief Vincent Anyigor, said they were more than 5000 APC members from the LGA that decided to leave APC for good.

He said their decision was informed by the excellent performances of the PDP government in the state and they needed to join the moving train.

He said: “We were deceived not to vote Governor David Umahi in 2015 that he is a thief, but if this is how a thief behaves, we want to have more of him.”

Anyigor assured the governor that they would join hands to ensure he and other PDP candidates secured 100 per cent votes in the council area.

Receiving the defectors, Governor Umahi commended them for making the right choice.

Elated Umahi appointed one of the decampees, Friday Ilang, as his Technical Assistant.

The governor said the choice of Ikwo LGA for the campaign flag-off was because the people of the council area did not disappoint the party in 2015 when the area was also chosen for the party's flag-off.

Umahi explained that despite he did not enjoy the support of his former boss, Ex-Governor Martin Elechi in 2015, the people of Ikwo LGA still gave him 90 per cent votes, saying he was optimistic that they would replicate same in the upcoming elections.

He urged the party faithful to throw their support behind all PDP candidates; maintaining that those contesting against them were wasting their time as the party had no rival in the state.

In their separate speeches, the Director General of Umahi’s campaign Organization, Chief Fidelis Nwankwo; Ebonyi State Chairman of PDP, Barr. Onyekachi Nwebonyi and the National Vice Chairman of PDP, South East zone, Chief Austin Umahi urged the people to reelect Umahi and other PDP candidates as the reward for good work is more work.

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