Mrs. Mariam Nneamaka Ali, the wife of a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali, on Thursday joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mrs. Ali who was accompanied by the Delta State APC Chairman, Jones Ode Erue; Chief Frank Kokori; Chief Great Ogboru, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and other top APC stalwarts and supporters from Delta State was received by the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the party’s national secretariat. Odigie-Oyegun was accompanied at the ceremony by the party’s National Woman Leader, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, and National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu.
At the ceremony, Mrs. Ali said: “A lot of persons may wonder why I am joining the APC. The answer is simple. I want to continue to render service to my people and Nigeria at large. I believe I will be doing myself a lot of disservice if I don’t fulfil this burning desire in me.
“I know also a lot of people will wonder why I have chosen to opt for a political party different from my husband’s. Again, the answer is not farfetched. My family is a unique family, it is a family devoid of religious and ethnic differences. You are all aware that Dr. Ahmadu Ali is a Muslim and I am passionate Catholic. Also, Dr. Ahmadu Ali is from North Central and I am form the South South.
“Therefore, religion and ethnicity do not play a role in our lives. It therefore suffices to say that my becoming an APC member and him being an active member of the PDP further displays the uniqueness of my family.
“We symbolise a people who want to serve a nation, a nation where oneness, love and peace reign supreme. Today marks the beginning of greater peace, love and oneness amongst all Nigerians. It is a new dawn, one nation, one destiny, one people. It is about an indivisible nation, Nigeria.”
The APC National Chairman in his remarks said Mrs. Ali’s entrant to the party has added value and quality to the party and its leadership both in Delta State and at the national level.
He said: “It is very clear from the spread, the quality of those who are here today that this is indeed a major event. l am glad that this day has come that you are joining APC because of your determination to render service to your people and the nation, which means that you have looked around, you have looked at your environment in the PDP and you have decided consciously after deep thought that the best vehicle available today on which platform you can render that service is the APC and l want to congratulate you.
“Yes, your husband was the longest serving National chairman of the PDP… But it is my hope that what you have started would turn into a family thing. I welcome you especially because you are adding to the quality of membership in Delta State and also adding to the quality of leadership in the APC family in the whole nation. The quality would propel us not just to victory in Delta State, but also in Nigeria.”
Senator representing Delta Central, Ovie Omo-Agege said the coming of Mrs. Ali and her immense grassroots support base to the APC is “a major strategic achievement for the party”.
He said: “It is a carefully thought-out game changer in our reengineering of the grassroots machinery of the APC in Delta North and Delta State as a whole. It is clearly a practical demonstration of our firm belief that true political strength only grows when reputable, courageous and competent leaders join a party.
“Many may have thought this was impossible, but we have proved again today that the Delta APC will do all that is necessary to increase its gains, decimate the PDP in Delta State and win convincingly in 2019. This is yet another real testimony of the increasing strength of the Delta APC and an evidence of our determination to carefully organise ourselves for landslide electoral victories in 2019.”
Chief Great Ogboru said Mrs. Ali joining the party was a paradigm shift in the political equation in Delta State. “Your coming into this party today is a confirmation that there is a paradigm shift from the wanton years of the PDP to the glorious years ahead for the APC. For this reason we are lucky,” he said.