Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has received into the fold of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State a former Commissioner for Youth Development, Comrade Udengs Eradiri, alongside about 10,000 of his supporters in the state.
Receiving Eradiri at the party secretariat in Yenagoa, Sylva described his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC as a positive sign of better and stronger things to come in the state during future elections.
Eradiri, who is currently the Special Adviser on Youths Matters to the Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr Effiong Akwa, is a one-time National President of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide.
Sylva, who is the state leader of the APC, after handing Eradiri the symbolic broom of the party, urged him to participate in the ongoing party membership revalidation/registration in the state.
“Udengs Eradiri is somebody I have confidence in. I see him defecting to the APC with half a million Bayelsa youths behind him. At this point in time the party needs him now more than ever,” Sylva stated.
Eradiri in an interview said his decision to dump the PDP for the APC was based on his recent appointment in the NDDC.
He stated, ”I have always been a member of the PDP and in recent times I have not had it good in my party. Now that the national government has called me for a national service, I can’t continue to remain in one party while working for another party.
“So, it is only proper that to render an effective service, I must abandon my personal interest for the national interest.”
