Anyim meets Tinubu, says no regrets dumping PDP

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, received former Senate President, Pius Anyim, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Anyim was led to President at the State House, Abuja, by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, and Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State.

Anyim, a PDP presidential aspirant in the 2023 elections, said he joined the APC to join hands with the government, given the “turbulent times”.

According to him, all patriots have a duty to ensure that the country continues to have a peaceful atmosphere.

Asked why he was leaving the PDP, Anyim said: “Can you look back at the history of the PDP and tell me how many leaders the PDP has produced that had joined the APC or another party at any particular point in time? It’s common.

“But importantly, I am determined to be sure that the country moves on the right path and I should be available to contribute my quota.”

Asked if he could not have contributed his quota from the opposition party, the former Senate President said: “Contributing quota does not necessarily mean to work, but to engender a conducive atmosphere for progress.

“I’m not looking for work, but there is a need that given the challenges the country is facing today, we all need to put all hands on deck to make the country move forward.”

Anyim also talked about his interests in the APC, saying, “Certainly, the country is passing through turbulent times and it is the duty of every patriot, if you have nothing to add, ensure that you contribute to the peaceful atmosphere that will engender progress in the country.”

Meanwhile, Uzodimma described Anyim as a “big fish” finally caught by the ruling party.

The governor said the defection was a big plus for the ruling APC, which, he said, was already ripping the benefit of Anyim’s defection.

He said, “We have started harvesting from it. If you recall, only a few days ago, there was a local government election in Ebonyi State and in that election, it was like a one-party movement. The All Progressives Congress won the entire local governments and councils.

“The party that used to be the strong opposition party, PDP, was nowhere to be seen. The majority of the leaders had already decamped to the APC and they voted one way.

“So in the same manner, because democracy is about the people, when the people are now unanimously agreeing that government is doing well, and a political party is doing well, and they’re all collapsing into that political party, what is remaining is to address the campaign of calumny arising from the propaganda of the opposition, which most of us here are used to.”

The Imo governor said the delegation was at the Villa to first thank the President for all the support he had given to the people of the South-East.

The visit was also meant to formally inform President Tinubu that the former Senate President, Ayim “has family joined the APC and is now part of the bigger political family in the country.”

“So I think it a huge plus, politically speaking for our party, to the government of the country under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, and also arising from that, we used the opportunity to commend and thank him for signing into law the South-East Development Commission Bill, which he just assented to,” Uzodimma added.

He described the new legislation as a significant triumph for the  South-East region, given past failed efforts to ratify it.

“He finally assented to the bill, which means listening to cries and the people of the South-East, particularly the leadership and the South-East Governors’ Forum, which I am the Chairman, are indeed very grateful,” he said.

On his part, the Enugu state governor said Anyim’s defection was for genuine reasons as he is “not looking for food.”

Nwifuru said Anyim was “not a small fry and is not looking for food”.

 “I’m very excited, and it’s a thing of joy for me that a very big fish in my state, especially that of our nation, Pius Ayim, and so many other distinguished leaders have decided to join our party, the All Progressives Congress. It is part of the benefits and dividends of democracy.

“Somebody like Pius, he’s not a pushover; he’s not somebody that you can say ‘because of money he is joining the APC,’ or that he is hungry or looking for a job.”

Explaining why several political bigwigs in his state had defected to the ACP, Nwiru said, “We’ve been able to do well according to our understanding and based on our best judgment. And that is what is engineering many of them to join APC.”