Notable stakeholders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have challenged the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to stem the tide of defections from the party since his emergence at the presidential primaries.
The APC stakeholders, essentially former aspirants under the aegis of APC360, at an emergency meeting in Abuja, lamented that the defections from the party are hazardous and harmful to the APC preparations to the 2023 elections.
The National Secretary of the APC360, Chris Enoch, in a statement, noted that the members were worried that over eight senators, including the Senate Majority leader, and over 25 members of the House of Representatives have defected from the party. He warned that critical stakeholders who have invested so much in the party, can no longer close their eyes over the dangerous exodus of party members.
The APC360 declared: “it is also hazardous and harmful to the health and wealth of our great party, particularly, when we are preparing for a national election.
“We, as members of the only pressure group that has invested in this great party through the direct purchase of expression of interest and nomination forms, etc., are concerned because of our belief that the massive decamping which is being surreptitiously carried out is planned and calculated to frustrate the coasting to the victory of Tinubu at the general elections by those who have scores to settle with the party or are holding grudges and to this end are working against the party.”
They, therefore, urged Tinubu to take urgent steps to end the defections from the ruling APC.