Actress turned-politician Tonto Dikeh has officially joined President Bola Tinubu’s ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC).
Photos from the unveiling were shared via the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, confirming that the actress is now a member of the party.
The 37-year-old was unveiled by the APC national women leader, Dr Mary Alile and the deputy national public secretary Duro Mesdeko at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
This comes hours after reports that the movie star had dumped her party to join APC circulated on the internet.
QEDNG’s visit to the politician’s Instagram account revealed that Tonto has not made any official statement regarding her new membership to the party.
The actress was the deputy governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Rivers State for the 2023 election.
She, however, stepped down from the race 48 hours before the election and declared her support for the APC governorship candidate Tonye Cole who lost to Siminialayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In an interview with journalists in Abuja during the GOTNI national leadership conference last year, Tonto said she would not stop contesting until she fulfils her ambition.
Tonto said her chances of governing the oil-rich state in the future were both high and slim because politics is dirty.
“One of the things I learnt is resilience and never giving up. I know after four years, they will forget about me and that, ‘she is not going to come back.’ But I am going to come back. Every four years, I am going to come back. I will come back and I will be in their faces. I will be coming back to the contest.
Tonto Dikeh reacts to criticism over emergence as ADC Rivers deputy governorship candidate
“My chances are high and slim because politics is dirty. It’s not going to be free and fair. (Nyesom) Wike’s candidate didn’t win free and fair. So I don’t expect politics to be free and fair, but I expect that, as someone said, having a lion’s heart requires taking the lion’s share.
“I won’t care what they think about my position, I will keep having the lion’s share, whether it is my personal life or politics, I am here to stay and they have no choice but to accept it,” the actress said.
