Brig. Gen.Don Idada Ikpomnwen (rtd) is a former Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army and a lawyer. He represented retired officers of the armed forces at the 2015 National Conference. Last Tuesday, Ikpomnwen defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which he co-founded in Edo State. In this interview, the retired general says he dumped the PDP the very day Gen. Muhammadu Buhari emerged the candidate of the APC ahead of the presidential election. According to him, the fall of PDP was predicted by some of them which was why he withdrew his participation in the party following what he describes as the promotion of mediocrity by the leadership of the PDP.

He gives an insight into the mood in the Army when the leadership of the military told the world that they were not in possession of Buhari’s certificate. Excerpts…

You were in PDP since 1998 until last Tuesday when you defected to the APC. Was the defection the result of the victory of one of your colleagues, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect?

The truth is that I was not just a member of the PDP, I was one of the founding fathers. I was one of the pillars from Edo that made sure that we went into PDP in 1998-1999. I worked consistently to ensure the success of this party in this state. I was a senatorial candidate.

I was shocked at what happened before and after the primaries. Later the leadership of the party appealed to me to calm down, that they will want me to go to the centre as a party official, I agreed. I got there and started working to ensure that I was elected into the position of the National Deputy Secretary.

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