The governorship election in Bayelsa state, President Jonathan’s home state may be still be months away, but party gladiators are already getting set, with the All Progressives Congress attracting a wave of defections from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

The APC got a major boost Friday with the defection of Alfred Egba, a PDP member of the Bayelsa state House of Assembly, representing Yenagoa Constituency 1.

Egba announced that he moved to the APC with his supporters and associates, including a former Special Adviser on Special Duties to the former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, Chief Sonme Ogilogi and a former commissioner in the State Independent Electoral Commission, Chief Tom Egba.

He said he decided to leave the PDP because the party could no longer give him the needed’covering’ and that the PDP’s centre could no longer hold due to the raging crisis in the state leadership of the party.

”The PDP is clouded in series of controversies with parallel Structures of leadership.The Party is surrounded by the emergence of a factional chairman of the party, while another person still claims to be in charge of the party leadership in the state.”

“The PDP has been hijacked and there were many occasions when i was never aware of developments in my constituency and the PDP in the State.Even with my prominent position as a member of the State House of Assembly under the platform of the PDP.I have consulted with stakeholders and also seek the face of God before deciding to quit the party.”

Watchers of political development in the state said the switch from PDP to APC in the state was informed by the new political profile of the former Governor,Chief Timipre Sylva, who is now chairing the transition committee for president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

Pundits also said the defection is connected with moves to unseat Governor Seriake Dickson of the PDP in the 2016 election.

Hon.