*Kicks Against Arbitrary Carpet-Crossing
BY CHUKS COLLINS, AWKA
THE All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has frowned at what it described as arbitrary and unjustifiable cross-carpeting by politicians at all levels in the country.
While expressing his dissatisfaction with the trend in Awka,the Anambra State capital, National Chairman of the party, Chief Sly Ezeokenwa, said the malaise has made his party in particularly look like a mere political breeding ground and incubator for politicians in various parts of the country.
Ezeokenwa asserted that APGA has won elections in virtually all parts of the country, but regretted that some politicians elected on its platform ended up defecting to other political parties the moment they were sworn in.
He said: “APGA has won elections in Imo, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Abia, etc, but most of them quickly jumped to other parties barely a week or two after being sworn in.
“The unwholesome conduct has made APGA look simply like a mere breeding ground and a political incubator.”
He said that ignoble act has portrayed the country’s political class as being dominated by people of no ideology, food-is-ready characters and persons without conscience, which he insisted must stop.
The APGA national chairman disclosed that the party might be forced to sponsor a fresh Bill to checkmate the act.
When reminded that the beneficiaries have been found to be the big/major political parties, often the ruling party or the main opposition party, making it difficulty to control, despite an existing law and court orders on it, Ezeokenwa said his party might have to collaborate with other parties on the matter.
He said APGA might insist that such office holders should step down from their positions or wait till the particular tenure elapses before going to another party.
Ezeokenwa disclosed that his party had concluded arrangement to begin digitalising its membership registers across the country, adding: “APGA has taken the initiative as the first party in Nigeria to digitalise the register of its members across the country.
“We want to lead the way for others to copy. The idea has a lot of benefits and simplifies accreditation of members.”
