Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Chukwuma Soludo yesterday said he dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) so he can be politically relevant.
According to him, the people blamed him for losing the 2010 governorship election in Anambra State.
Soludo spoke at his home in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area, when he was registered by Isuofia Ward Chairman of APGA Okeke Anthony and issued an APGA card.
He said: “Anambra remains an APGA land and therefore, I decided to join my people in a quest to transform Anambra State and Nigeria.
“It is true that I have resigned my membership of the PDP and right now, I am a fully registered member of APGA.”
Soludo’s resignation letter to the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, dated July 17, was made available to reporters yesterday.
The letter reads: “This is to convey my resignation as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with effect from today.
“Let me use this opportunity to thank the party for the opportunity given to me to serve in some capacity.
“This resignation is without prejudice to the possibility of future collaboration with the party in any areas of common interest designed to advance the course of nation-building.”
Speaking at his registration, Soludo said: “It has been a long process of consultations which dated back to January 2.
“There is an overwhelming demand by the people for me to remain engaged in the political process and after all the consultations; I came to the conclusion that there was need for that
“Also, there is a peculiar demand from the people for me to run for governor in November to build on what Governor Peter Obi has done.
“We need continuity and consolidation on what Obi and his predecessors had done in the state, so APGA is a party that is a mass movement; it lives in the consciousness of the people.
“I am not joining APGA simply as a vehicle to contest the election; I am joining APGA because I agree with its trust, objective and driving force.
” APGA is a big discovery. Being in APGA is a home coming for me and I have come into it out of the conviction that most of the people in the Southeast are APGA members at heart.
He told reporters that he was not aware of any zoning and rotation formula in the APGA constitution.
“This is a democracy, it is the people who will make the decision.
“I understand our governor’s point and argument concerning the people of a section but again, this is a democracy and only the people will say what they want.”
