The Ondo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has said it is unruffled by the defection of some of its chieftains, to the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state.
Some chieftains of the PDP on Wednesday announced their official defection to the APC in the state.
Some of the defectors include former federal lawmakers Mr Akinlaja Joseph, Lad Alaba Ojomo, Victor Akinjo, and Gboluga Ikengboju, and former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Jumoke Akindele.
However, in a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity of the PDP Campaign Organisation, Mr Ayo Fadaka, the main opposition party in the state, said the party would win the November 16 governorship election in the state, despite the development.
According to the statement, the defectors were already working for the APC before their eventual departure, so they would not be missed.
The statement read, “We take due cognisance of the actions of some people led by Joseph Akinlaja that have since joined the APC two months ago. We restate that prior to their action, they were completely detached from developments within our party, even one of them that vied for our governorship ticket was sponsored by the APC, which had earlier nominated him as NDDC Commissioner at the onset of the Tinubu administration. Such a character cannot be considered an asset to our party.
“We note conclusively that these people are mere rolling stones who gather no moss as they relocate from one party to another during every election cycle. They have never been politically stable, the reason we are not missing them. They will add nothing to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his party; rather, they will become unlucky, and we congratulate him and APC on this account.
“To serious-minded people remaining in APC, we urge them to take cognisance that a large chunk of their colleagues responsible for APC’s success in the past have since teamed up with us, so they must waste no further time to join the PDP in our quest to reposition our state for development and growth.”