National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has advised the lawmakers who defected from the party not to be deceived by promises of automatic tickets.

Addressing reporters on Thursday in Abuja, Oshiomhole said there are no automatic tickets for those defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While he described such promise as ‘a mirage’, he noted that the APC does not need politicians of convenience but members with a shared ideology.

The APC National Chairman, however, said the doors of the ruling party were open to defectors to return, but would not be lured with gifts such as dollars or automatic tickets.

He spoke to journalists after meeting with the APC caucus in the House of Representatives led by the Majority Leader of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the party’s secretariat in the nation’s capital.

Gbajabiamila said that the draining of the swamp had taken place earlier while the consolidation of the remaining loyal members would continue.

The meeting was convened two days after 37 members of the House and 14 members of the Senate dumped the APC.

•Excerpted from a Channels report