Founding members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Architect Joe Ikyaagba said the failure of the party to fulfill its promises of tackling insecurity and economy are some of the reasons he is dumping it to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He also said the contentious killing of his people in Benue state by suspected Fulani bandits without adequate efforts by the federal government to stop the trend has endeared him to join hands with governor Samuel Ortom to raise their voices against it.
Architect Ikyaagba who plans to dump the APC to PDP on Monday at his home town in Vandeikya local government area, also declares his intention to contest the 2023 governorship election in Benue state so as to contribute his quota to its development.
“If you recall, I wasn’t just a member of the APC, I was a major stakeholder in the formation in Benue state having been part of those who had believed in the PDP as way back as April 2013 when it became very obvious that it was not making headway.”
“So I left the PDP well ahead of when APC was registered as a party on the grounds of principles because so much had happened in the PDP in Benue state and our advises to the party at the time were considered not necessary in spite of the fact that there were no superior arguments that were advanced against our own position at the time.”
According to him, rather than stay within the party and continue to be controversial, it was better for him to take a step back which he did on the eve of the convention of the APC and as such, was very much part of the leadership that formed the APC.
“The APC had promised to improve on the economy and not just be theoretical about the economy. It also promised to be people oriented far more than it was at inception”.
“A number of promises that were made, like the issue of insecurity in the North East that was to be taken care of has now permeated into virtually every part of the North. The situation has become worse at the moment. Nearly the entire country is challenged by acts of terrorism that we never ever anticipated, in spite of the huge amount that have been committed to the fight.”
Architect Ikyaagba who was Special Adviser to the governor on Special Duties, noted that from the economic perspective, when the APC took over, the value of the Naira was about N180 and now we are talking of an exchange rate of close to N600 to the Dollar.
“Coming back to Benue state, never have my people been so traumatized by this level of external attacks by terrorists and in particular, the Fulani herdsmen. It is totally unacceptable to me that these attacks continued and many people have been hunted down in spite of the fact that there have been one or two of such attacks that the Miyetti Allah have claimed responsibility with their leadership known but federal government has refused to arrest them.”
He said Governor Ortom has been shouting about the attacks on his people and anyone that means well for Benue state know that his position is correct and he is saying the truth; promising not to sit down as a statesman and pretend to be unaware and refuse to come back to join forces with the people in order to take care of the existential threats that seeks to undermine us in the Benue state.
That informs why I need to on grounds of principles also get back home in order to play my part in resolving the security situation in the state.
He said Benue state needs a knowledgeable, capable and someone with sound background on problems affecting the state rather than zoning that is associated with mediocrity.