Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh, has formally defected to the All Progressive Congress and declared her willingness to work towards election of General Muhammadu Buhari.

Defecting along thousands of her supporters in Irewole, Ayadaade and Isokan Federal Constituency in Osun, the first female Speaker was welcomed to the party in a campaign rally led by the Governor of State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

Etteh hinged her defection on the need to join APC because of what she termed the party’s progressive and people oriented policies.

Patricia Etteh made record when she became the first woman to have assumed the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria in June 2007. She was forced to resign from the position in October after a series of high-wire politics that characterised a highly controversial award of contracts.

She faced oppositions over accusations that she had authorised the spending of 628 million Naira on renovations of her official residence and that of her deputy, and the purchase of 12 official cars meant for the House of Representatives. She was later found to have been innocent of the allegations for which she was forced to resign.