Just In: APC Chieftain from Bayelsa Reacts to Ex-President Jonathan's Alleged Defection

• Nigeria's former president, Goodluck Jonathan, still remains a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party
• Yekini Nabena, a chieftain of the APC, said this in reaction to the wide speculations that the Bayelsa born political leader has joined the ruling party
• The PDP had also earlier reacted to the defection rumour, noting that the former president has not officially notified the party about leaving

Bayelsa state - Yekini Nabena, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has debunked the rumour that former President Goodluck Jonathan has joined the ruling party.

The Guardian reported that Nabena said the ex-leader had not dumped the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Legit.ng gathers that the APC chieftain who hails from the same Bayelsa state with Jonathan reiterated that there was no iota of truth in the speculations.

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He said:

“As at the moment, there is nothing like that. If the former President decides to join the APC, it can’t be a hidden event. We will naturally celebrate it.

“As a chieftain of the APC, I am aware that anybody who wants to join the party would start from the ward level. To the best of my knowledge as a Bayelsan, I am not aware of anything like that yet.”

PDP speaks on Jonathan's defection rumour

In a related development, the PDP has reacted to the rumour that ex-President Jonathan has defected to the APC.

There have been speculations that the former president is being wooed by the APC ahead of the 2023 elections.

However, the opposition party said it has not received any official correspondence from for former Nigerian leader regarding the purported defection. The PDP's national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, as saying this on Wednesday, September 15.

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Don’t join APC - Nwodo tells Jonathan

Meanwhile, a former national chairman of the PDP, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, has advised Jonathan not to join the APC.

Nwodo claimed that defection will destroy what is left of the former president's integrity.

According to him, the APC destroyed Jonathan in all their actions. He added that he would be extremely disappointed if Jonathan joins the ruling party.

PDP leaders visit Jonathan, beg him not to defect

Similarly, Legit.ng earlier reported that the perceived silence of former President Jonathan over the ordeals of the PDP had become a recipe for worry among party leaders.

This was reportedly why a delegation led by the acting national chairman of the opposition party, Yemi Akinwonmi, paid him a visit in Abuja on Tuesday, August 31.

Apart from informing Jonathan of the happenings in the party, the delegates, according to a source who spoke with The Punch, begged him not to abandon the opposition party.

Source: Legit.ng