Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto, has resigned and also defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Zonal Vice Chairman of the PDP for Zone C in Niger State, Yahaya Abdullahi, confirmed the defection to Channels Television on Tuesday.
“Officials have just issued the former Deputy Governor with the membership card of the party. We have caught a lion of Niger State politics, he is not a big fish but a lion”, he said.
Ibeto who was the former deputy governor to the immediate past Governor of Niger State, Muazu Aliyu, resigned on Monday and later defected after he arrived from Pretoria on Sunday.
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He handed over his letter of resignation at the Ministry of External Affairs.
Subsequently, he picked a membership form of the PDP at his ward in Magama local government area at about 3:00 pm on Tuesday.
He was presented with the party’s membership card immediately after the registration ceremony which was witnessed by many party supporters and loyalists.
Ibeto had left the PDP for the APC, few months to the 2015 general elections following a disagreement with his boss, Aliyu.
He was to be compensated with a ministerial slot but his name was said to have been dropped at the last minute.
He was, however, later nominated and appointed as Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Zonal Vice Chairman said his return to the PDP is bound to enhance the party’s chances in the state ahead of the 2019 elections.
He, however, ruled out the possibility of automatic tickets for any member of the party, adding that all members seeking elective positions have to go through the processes.
When asked to comment on the defection, the APC Chairman in the state, Mohammed Imam, said the party has not been formally informed of the development and would make its position known when it receives official communication on the matter.
The post Nigeria’s Ambassador To South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto Resigns, Defects To PDP appeared first on Channels Television.
Nigeria’s Ambassador To South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto Resigns, Defects To PDP
