Ikenga Ugochinyere, the lawmaker representing Ideato North and South federal constituency of Imo, on Wednesday, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Action Peoples Party.

Mr Ugochinyere told a large crowd of his supporters at a rally in Akokwa, Ideato South LGA, that “irreconcilable differences” within the national leadership of his former party led to his defection.

“From day one, we started with PDP until this afternoon, we are still in court,” he said.

Mr Ugochinyere claimed his troubles began when the PDP disqualified him from the primary election and later sought a court order to declare his seat vacant. He alleged that the party failed to support him during “periods of intense political hostility and physical attacks on his property.

“Our party never gave us support, not even a statement,” he said, adding that his billboards were destroyed and supporters arrested.

The lawmaker said he survived assassination attempts and faced 28 “trump-up charges”, intended to derail his legislative career.

“In spite of evidence provided to security agencies on the January 13, 2023, attack and destruction of my property, nothing has been done to prosecute the perpetrators. We have faced both internal and external enemies,” he said.

Mr Ugochinyere vowed to seek international intervention regarding alleged atrocities and human rights abuses recorded within the state. He said that PDP failed to heed warnings about internal dangers, leading to his exit to a “stable platform”.

“There’s no other stable platform in Nigeria today, except the APP,” Ugochinyere said.

He described APP as a “party that rewards hard work with electoral victory and defends the sanctity of the ballot box at all costs”.

(NAN)