Aaron Uzodike, the newly sworn-in lawmaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, has addressed rumors about his alleged plans to defect to the ruling Labour Party (LP) in the state.
Uzodike, a member of the PDP, was inaugurated on Tuesday after a prolonged delay during which Mr. Emeruwa, a member of the ruling LP, refused to swear him in. Uzodike contested the 2023 general election for the Abia North State Constituency but lost to Destiny Nwangwu of the LP.
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Following the election, Uzodike challenged Nwangwu’s victory at the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which ruled in his favor and declared him the rightful winner. Despite the court’s decision, Emeruwa continued to withhold Uzodike’s inauguration.
After several months of mounting pressure, Uzodike was finally sworn in on Tuesday, exactly 14 months after the Assembly’s initial inauguration on June 14, 2023.
In the wake of his inauguration, there have been speculations that Uzodike may have been coerced into signing an agreement to defect to the LP.
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However, in an interview with Premium Times on Thursday, the lawmaker denied having any agreement with the state government to defect to the LP.
“We didn’t have such an agreement. Also, I don’t have any intention to defect to the Labour Party for now,” he said.
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Continuing, Mr Uzodike said: “I don’t see any reason why politicians should be defecting to other parties; they’re all going there for their personal interest, which is to get a ticket to run in an election.
“So, the most important thing for me is to perform well in this one that has been given to me so that if the Labour Party sees me as a performer, they will call me to come and contest an election because people are happy with me.”
The lawmaker stated that his primary focus is on performing effectively in the House to benefit his constituents.
“So the time for defection hasn’t come,” he said.
Mr. Uzodike explained that his inauguration was unexpected, as he had not been given any prior notice about the event.
“I was just informed hours before the inauguration. There was no meeting whatsoever to decide what will happen. At the appropriate time, God entered the Speaker’s mind and touched him and he invited me.
“On reaching the assembly, he said ‘you’re going to be inaugurated.’ I was even surprised. I thought it was something else that I was invited for,” the lawmaker narrated.
