David Ombugadu, the two-time governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, on Tuesday defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he was “tired” of leading the opposition after eight years.
Mr Ombugadu announced his defection during an APC caucus meeting at the Government House in Lafia, shortly before the party’s state congress held at Lafia Square.
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Speaking in the presence of Governor Abdullahi Sule and other party leaders, the former PDP governorship candidate said his years in the opposition were largely spent criticising the governor’s policies and programmes.
“I spent eight years on the other side, policing the policies of my elder brother. My task was to make sure that anything that is good, we paint it black,” Mr Ombugadu said.
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He contested against Mr Sule in the 2019 and 2023 governorship elections under the PDP platform. He also challenged the results of both elections up to the Supreme Court, but was unsuccessful.
According to him, his role in the opposition gave him the opportunity to closely scrutinise the governor’s policies and performance, which influenced his decision to return to the APC.
“Having scrutinised his policies and performances, I have come to realise that the best thing to do in the interest of the people of Nasarawa State and for the progress of the state is to join the progressives and also bring value to the table,” he said.
Mr Ombugadu, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Akwanga/Nasarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency between 2011 and 2015, explained that his earlier exit from the APC in 2015 was not because the party lacked viability.
He said he was among the founding members of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which later merged with other parties to form the APC, but left due to internal interests that sidelined him in his political zone despite his legislative record.
The politician also acknowledged the contributions of former Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Al-Makura and former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu to the growth of the party in the state.
He added that more of his supporters were expected to join the APC in the coming days.
“In politics, when we disagree, it is interest; when we agree, it is interest. When we are divided, it is interest. When we come together, it is also interest. The most important thing is that the interest should be directed towards impacting lives and promoting peace that will transform the state,” he said.
Welcoming Mr Ombugadu and other defectors, Governor Sule thanked party stakeholders for ensuring the peaceful conduct of the party’s congresses from ward to state levels.
The governor also welcomed the Deputy Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly and Philip Gyunka, a former senator who recently returned to the APC.
Mr Sule announced that the party would organise a special reception to formally receive the new entrants.
“Whatever has happened has happened. Let it go. With the way we are going, there is no more opposition in Nasarawa State. We from within cannot be our own opposition,” the governor said.
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Meanwhile, at the APC state congress held shortly after the meeting at Lafia Square, Aliyu Bello was affirmed as the party’s state Chairperson.
Speaking after his affirmation, Mr Bello pledged that the newly inaugurated State Working Committee would be fair to all aspirants seeking elective positions on the party’s platform.
“We are going to be fair and just to everybody who wishes to aspire for any position on the platform of our party. We also assure the governor of our loyalty to his administration and to the party,” he said.
Governor Sule also assured party members who were not returned as executives that they would still have opportunities to serve the party in other capacities.
