"The opposition are just shooting blanks, it's nonsense to suggest that Copperbelt has been taken over by the opposition," Chipili said. "What the opposition are doing is they are just making noise here."
He claimed that opposition Patriotic Front was not making any impact in the Province saying all those who attended a public rally addressed by Michael Sata on Saturday in Kitwe were 'hired'.
Chipili, however, said constituency committees in Chingola and Chambishi towns had been dissolved and replaced in order to streamline the operations of the party. "We had problems in Chingola and Chambishi where we made some shake-ups. I am comfortable with the rest of the towns in the Province," he said.
At a huge rally addressed by Sata at Freedom Park in Kitwe on Saturday, 615 people resigned from the MMD, 75 from UPND, five from ZRP, 12 from UNIP, 12 from FDD, 57 from ZRP, seven from NCC, 12 from ZDC and 13 from National Party to join Patriotic Front.