Mohammed, in a telephone interview in Abuja, said Ikuru’s defection on Sunday was not the first time he was engaging in an act of betrayal.
He said, “When Amaechi recovered his mandate, he did not pay Ikuru back for the betraying him even when he learnt that Ikuru was already packing out of his office, Amaechi showed that magnanimity.
“In 2011 when Amaechi had the opportunity to drop him but he did not. So, today, because he was not given the party ticket, he decided to leave.
“He is a light weight. Why is it even a story when the deputy governor of Niger State joined us and several others joined us from the other party, we did not make an issue out of it. This is none issue.”
Meanwhile,the PDP Campaign Organisation described Ikuru’s defection as a welcome development and urged other leaders of the APC to do the same.
The PDPPCO, through its Director of Media and Publicity, Femi Fani-Kayode, said in a statement in Abuja that the PDP was happy to receive Ikuru back into its family.
It said, “We are glad to hear about the return of the deputy governor of Rivers State, Ikuru, to the PDP family. This is a deeply courageous step and we welcome with open arms.
“We encourage other key leaders of the APC to abandon the ranks of the doomed and to join the PDP. We urge them to see the light and retrace their steps in the same way that the deputy governor of Rivers state has done.
“The defection of the deputy governor at this critical time represents a deep and grievous spiritual wound on the APC. They are falling apart at the seams and they are crumbling.”