Osun deputy gov’s brother, others dump APC for PDP
An elder brother of Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, the incumbent deputy governor of Osun State has dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigerian Tribune reports.
Mr Sunday Laoye, popularly known as “T Mack”, from Olorunda Local Government Area of the state, was said to have resolved to decamp from the APC, “citing undue marginalisation and poverty ravaging the masses of the state as reasons for his action.”
The Nigerian Tribune quoted credible sources as saying that the development was already creating some upsets in both Olorunda and Osogbo local governments, where Mr Laoye, is believed to wield big political influence.
“Laoye is personally worried and concerned about the downturn in the socio-economic fortunes of Osun State in the last three years and the deceit, wrapped with propagandist approach of the APC government, which is the tool being used to stagnate growth of the state.”
A source close to Osun PDP, on Tuesday, also confided in the Nigerian Tribune, that the deputy governor’s brother and his followers from the APC, will be officially received at the secretariat of the party, situated along Gbongan-Ibadan expressway, in Osogbo.
Commenting on the development, the director of media and strategy to Senator Iyiola Omisore, the PDP flagbearer in the state, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said “it is a welcome development, because the more the APC abuse us, the higher the acceptability and rising profile of our God-ordained candidate, who would liberate Osun, come August 9, 2014”.
While reacting to the planned defection of Laoye and others to the PDP, the APC’s director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr Kunle Oyatomi, asserted that “it is not new in Nigerian political scene. You can have family divided as to which political party they will support.”
“In the East, we once had SG Ikoku in the Action Group and his father, Alvan in the NCNC. They went into election and the son defeated the father. They later had dinner together to celebrate. The Shita-Bey family in Lagos, were split between Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The same with the Dosunmu family. If the deputy governor’s brother now wants to be identified with PDP, there is nothing wrong with that. We can only wish him luck,” he submitted.
