A former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Rafiu Jafojo, and some chieftains of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in the state on Saturday defected to All Progressives Congress, APC.

Others who defected were Oluyomi Finnih, former Lagos State Chairman, Elders Council of PDP and Tunde Daramola, former state secretary of the party.

An event officially announcing the defection of the new members, was held at the APC secretariat in Acme, Lagos.

Welcoming the new members, Henry Ajomale, the State Chairman of APC, said they had made a good decision.

He promised that the party would be fair to them.

Mr. Finnih, who spoke on behalf of the new members, said that the defectors had come for the unity of the party and not to divide it.

“We took the bold decision because we see the party as a prosperous party. We defected based on lack of internal democracy in the PDP and our aim is winning the presidential election by APC,” Mr. Finnih said.

The State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, said the party was glad to accommodate the new members.

Mr. Fashola urged them to ensure that the party’s interest was placed above individual interest, saying that there would be a level playing ground.

Meanwhile, the state chapter of PDP described the defection of Mr. Finnih and his group to the APC as a welcome development.

Gani Taofik, the State Publicity Secretary, said, “Finnih and his group have long been out of PDP. The defection ceremony today is just a charade for people who have long left our fold.

“Finnih and his group had always worked against the PDP even when they were our members.

“Their roles of playing moles and fifth columnists in our party have been extinguished. They had no choice but to be part and parcel of the APC, their real party.”

He advised other members of the party who were not willing to abide by its rules and loyalty to exit or risk being disciplined.

“The Lagos PDP can no longer tolerate insubordination,” he said. “It is no longer business as usual. We want to enforce party discipline to the letter.”

He, however, assured members that the party would emerge victorious in 2015 general elections.

(NAN)