…Defectors, our members – Rapc
…They’re Saraki’s blind supporters – Adamu
…Aggrieved PDP members kick
Political scheming has begun across all political parties ahead of next year’s general elections.
The latest of such move is the gale of defections that has so far hit the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).
But will the party’s loss not be headache for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where majority of the defectors moved to? TOPE SUNDAY queries.
After many months of uncertainties over the political future of some members the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) the party experienced political hurricane on Tuesday as its 51 members dumped it for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had ruled the country for 16 years before the APC; and other political parties.
Though, the two Senators, Lanre Tejuoso (Ogun Central) and Adesoji Akanbi (Oyo South), who were earlier listed by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, among the 15 defecting senators, have recanted and pledged their loyalty to the party, the attention now, according to pundits, has shifted to the intending ripple effects of the move on both the APC and PDP.
Defection galore Since 1999, when the country returned to democracy, political gladiators have always jumped ship and till date, the trend has not changed.
This, however, explained the scenario that played out in the two chambers of the National Assembly where about 51 members of the APC dumped the party.
Amidst the drama, accusation and counteraccusation that the Police blocked the streets leading to the official residences of the President of the Senate, Dr Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekeremadu, the upper chamber of the National Assembly reconvened for the Tuesday plenary, and was preceded over by Saraki.
One of the items that the topped the day’s agenda was the defection of some members of the APC.
In the process, Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West); and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central); were listed among those who dumped the APC for the PDP.
Also, Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North); Banabas Gemade (Benue, Northeast); Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South); Shittu Ubali (Jigawa North-east); and Danbaba Ibrahim (Sokoto South) followed suit.
Others were Usman Nafada (Gombe North); Nasif Nafada (Bauchi North); Isah Misau (Bauchi Central); and Suleman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North).
However, Senator Muritala Nyako (Adamawa Central) and Monsurat Sumonu (Oyo Central) defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Surprisingly, 32 members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the APC in 2015, also dumped the ruling party for the PDP, and four others pitched their tents with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on the same day.
The roll call of the defectors include: Garba Umar (Kano), Olayonu Tope (Kwara), Ahmed Garba (Kano), Kabiru Marafa (Sokoto), Zakari Mohammed (Kwara), Abubakar AmudaKanike (Kwara), Ali Madaki (Kano), Hassan Saleh (Benue), Ahman Pategi (Kwara), Mark Gbillah (Benue), Shehu Usman (Kano), Aminu Shagari (Sokoto), Nuhu Danburam (Kano), and Atunwa Abdulrazak (Kwara).
Others are Salisu Zakari (Bauchi), Hassan Omale (Kogi), Rufai Chanchangi (Kaduna), Abdulsamad Dasuki (Sokoto), Sani Zoro (Jigawa), Benjamin Okolo (Kogi), Funke Adedoyi (Kwara), Bode Ayorinde (Ondo), Bashiru Salihu (Sokoto), and Barry Mpigi (Rivers).
Nasiru Sule (Kano), Segun Ogunwuyi (Oyo), Lawal Rabiu (Kaduna), Sani Rano (Kano), Dickson Tarkighir (Benue) Musa Adotsamiya (Kano) and Emmanuel Udende (Benue).
Similarly, Sunday Adepoju (Oyo), Olugbemi Samson (Oyo), Taiwo Michael (Oyo) and Olasupo Abiodun (Oyo), defected to the ADC.
Also, shortly after the tsunami hit the party, the Benue state Governor, Dr Samuel Ortom, bid the party farewell and embraced his first love, the PDP, which denied him the governorship ticket in 2015.
Speculation is now rife that the Kwara state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his Sokoto state counterpart, Aminu Waziri Aminu Tambuwal; the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, may pack their luggage and return to the PDP, any moment from now.
The 2013 scenario What APC is experiencing is the reincarnation of the 2013 saga preparatory to the 2015 general elections, which consumed the then incumbent President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, of the PDP and enthroned President Muhammadu Buhari of the then newly formed APC.
In November 2013, five sitting governors, namely, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano state, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto and Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, dumped the ruling PDP for the APC.
Their defection, which still serves as the reference point till date, also spread to the National Assembly, and its ripples effect later served as albatross for the PDP in the 2015 general elections.
It lost the grip of power at the centre.
That year, PDP lost 21 senators to the APC and notable among them were Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Senator Magnus Abe (River South-east), Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Aisha Alhassan (Taraba North), Ali Ndume (Borno South), late Ahmed Zannah (Borno Central) and Bindowo Jubrilla (Adamawa North), who is now the governor of Adamawa state.
Expectedly, in the House of Representatives within the same period, 37 members defected from the PDP to APC.
The lawmakers who defected then include: Alhassan Ado, Abudulmumin Jibrin, Kabiru Marafa Achida, Aminu Shagari, Dakuku Peterside, Ali Ahmad, Rafiu Ibrahim Adebayo, Aiyedun Akeem Olayinka, Mustafa Moshood, Aliyu AhmanPategi, Zakari Mohammed, and Yakubu Dogara, now the Speaker of the House of Representatives, among notable others.
Defectors, our members – rAPC The journey to deflate the APC’s political strength began on July 4, 2018, when the aggrieved members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) in the APC walked their talk and factionalised the party with the emergence of the reformed-All Progressives Congress (rAPC ) in Abuja.
The splinter group within the ruling APC, without wasting time constituted its national executive with Alhaji Buba Galadima from Yobe state as the national chairman, Dr.
Fatai Atanda from Oyo state, national secretary and Prince Kazeem Afegbua, from Edo state as the national publicity secretary.
At its inaugural press conference in Abuja, the group’s national chairman explained that the decision to form the rAPC was fallout of the recently concluded congress of the APC, which he described as null and void due to the alleged violations of the party’s constitution.
While the session lasted, he did not spare the APC under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, and described him as rudderless and incompetent, alleging further that his highhandedness can be seen from his various attempts to shut members of the nPDP even after they made their grievances known and gave him the latitude to discuss with them on the best way forward.
He also said the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, are key members of the rAPC, noting that the incident in Kwara state where three leaders of the senatorial zones denounced the APC was just a tip of iceberg as more people would soon join the camp of the rAPC.
“The APC government has been a monumental disaster, even worse than the government it replaced.
The political party that was a vehicle for enthroning the government was rendered powerless by manipulations and complete lack of due process in its operations.
“The last straw was the congresses and convention of the APC held recently.
The congresses were intensely disputed as it was conducted with impunity, total disregard for due process, disregard for the party constitution and naked display of power and practices that have no place in a party we all worked the very hard to put in place.
“There are countless cases in courts all over the country challenging the legality of congresses and even the national convention itself.
It is very likely that the judicial decisions on these cases will result in massive chaos, confusion and uncertainties.
The fate of a party in this state with a few months to the elections is best left to the imagination, but it is not a fate we believe our millions of members should be abandoned to.
“There were parallel congresses in 24 states namely: Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto and Zamfara.
“The R-APC includes all the progressive forces in APC, including most of the leading members of the defunct nPDP, CPC, ANPP, like-minded political parties and groups to offer Nigeria qualitative good governance in 2019,” Galadima said.
Also, the group had dragged the party to court over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election that produced its new crops of national executive officers.
In a twist of the events, the group has also declared that all the defectors are its members, saying that anybody who shares its sentiments and aspirations is a bonafide member of the group.
Speaking to Blueprint Weekend in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of rAPC, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said: “Of course, they (the defectors) are our members.
Remember, that we had said it before that we can give directive to the National Assembly to impeach somebody and it will be so done.
Did we not say it before? Our National Chairman, Alhaji Buba Galadima, said it.
That means, we have more members in the National Assembly even more than the APC.
“And it is not done yet, we are going to have more defectors, both in the senate and House of Representatives.” Continuing, he said: “Any defector (from APC) is a member of rAPC because what we are clamouring for is the fact that we needed a platform where our wishes and aspirations will be attended to, this is because there are some level of arrogance of power by the maximum rulers of the APC.
They feel they don’t need anybody, they feel they have all the security apparatus to proud beat everybody into submission.
“But they have forgotten that consciences of everybody differ.
And for those who possess consciences and who feel that it’s about time for us to think differently, that those persons share in our sentiment and aspiration.
So, anybody who has defected from the National Assembly is a member of rAPC.”
Abdullahi Adamu reacts Senator Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West) has fired missiles at the defectors, describing them as “blind supporters of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki,” who, he alleged, hurriedly compiled the names to discredit the ruling party.
Adamu, in a telephone interview with the Blueprint Weekend, said : “To many of us who are members of the ruling party (APC) in the Senate, possible defection of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, from theparty for reasons best known to him, along with the two other senators from Kwara state and, of course, Senator Dino Melaye, who several weeks back, was allowed by Saraki to change his sitting position in the hallowed chamber to the side meant for members of minority parties, was a long- awaited action and not the gang-up form of defection that took place on Tuesday, in the Senate.
“To us, aside from the two senators from Kwara state and by extension, Senator Dino Melaye from Kogi state, all other senators included in the list, were smuggled into it by Saraki to settle scores with leadership of the party or with the presidency.
“Many of those other senators included in the list, particularly those from the Northern part of the country, will surely have a rethink and come back into the APC fold before the 2019 general elections because their electoral fortune cannot be separated from the goodwill and popularity president Buhari enjoy among the electorates there, and a very strong factor that contributed to the 2015 electoral victories that came their way.”
The gladiators and PDP’s headache As it stands now, PDP is on the verge of returning to its old glory of being the largest political party in Africa if its entire lost ‘sheep’ return to its fold.
This is not the best of times for the APC because the current political hurricane has swept, and is still sweeping, away some of its key members.
Based on the available statistics, PDP is feasting on the APC’s misfortune more than any other political party in the country.
But pundits have raised a poser, which borders on how PDP will manage its returning stalwarts considering their political strength and interest ahead of the 2019 elections? Before this session of defection, former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, who is a Presidential aspirant, had returned ‘home,’ and Kwankwaso has followed suit.
Though Kwankwaso has not officially declared his intention to take a shot at the presidency, his aspiration is in the public domain.
He was among those who contested the APC presidential primary with President Buhari in 2015, and he rallied the second highest vote beating Atiku and others.
Similarly, Saraki and Tambuwal are also reportedly eyeing the country’s number one seat, which this explains why they are jumping ship from APC to PDP.
The question is: who will fly the party’s flag? Also, will the party’s hierarchy jettison the presidential aspirations of some of its members like the former Governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, the Governor of Gombe state, Dr Ibrahim Dankwambo, as well as the former Minister of Special Duties, Taminu Turaki, who weathered the storm and remained faithful to the party for the returnees? These are some of the puzzles that are expected to be solved before the party enters the ring for the election next year.
How the PDP resolves these would determine whether the APC’s loss will become the party’s gain.
Sharing formula Blueprint Weekend gathered from a reliable source that PDP, in its quest to come back to power, has conceded the party structure to any governor willing to ply his trade on its platform.
Similarly, it has also introduced a 60:40 power sharing formula.
Under this arrangement, 60 per cent is for a state defecting with the governor and 40 per cent for the existing PDP members.
The APC’ loss may become the PDP’s headache if the latter throws fairness and equity into the dustbin in handling its returning.
For instance, in Kano, where Kwankwaso hails from, he would be battling with his old rival and also former governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, who holds PDP’s structure in the state.
This will be the second time in less than four years that Kwankwaso and Shekarau would be still be locked in supremacy battle over who controls the structure of the party in the state.
In 2014, Shekarau dumped the APC when he was asked to surrender the entire party structure to the then governor, Kwankwaso, who now represents Kano Central.
The rivalry between Kwankwaso and Shekarau dates back to 2003, when the latter stopped the former’s second term ambition by beating him in the gubernatorial poll in Kano state.
Four years later, in 2007, against all odds, Shekarau broke the jinx and became the first governor to win re-election in the state.
Analysts have predicted that based on the interplay of ego and political supremacy, Kwankwaso and Shekarau may not stay last long the same party.
Though, the Media Adviser to Shekarau, Sule Yau Sule, welcomed Kwankwaso back to the PDP, he issued a stern warning that he must be ready to abide by the rules of the party.
On whether Shekarau will dump PDP again because of Kwankwaso, Sule said: “Malam Shekarau is a founding member of the APC, but had to leave the party for Kwankwaso in Kano, when serving governors who dumped the PDP for the APC were asked to lead the party in their states.
“Now with the coming of Kwankwaso to PDP, we will only hope PDP has received a reformed Kwankwaso.
I hope it is not the old Kwankwaso I knew.
I hope he will this time around abide by the rules and regulations of the PDP and not repeat what he did after he joined APC in 2015.
At that time, he took over everything leaving us with nothing.” To this end, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has reportedly extended overtures to Shekarau to come back to APC where he is one of its founding fathers.
Ganduje, who had fallen out of favour with his former boss, Kwankwaso, has reportedly offered Shekaru the opportunity to produce his deputy in his re-election bid.
It is worth noting that if this proposed alignment works out, the PDP may experience a major setback in the state.
Similar scenario may play out in Sokoto if Tambuwal eventually defects to the PDP.
He would have the likes of the former Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, who has declared his intention to contest the state’s governorship seat in the 2019 general elections; his brother-in-law, Senator Abdullahi Wali, who he contested against and defeated in 2015; and former Governor Attaihuru Bafarawa to contend with.
Going by the purported 60: 40 sharing formula reportedly introduced by the national leadership of PDP, will all the party’s gladiators in the state bury their aspiration for Tambuwal? That question, expectedly, would be answered in the next couple of days.
In Benue state, Governor Samuel Ortom may not have issues with the former Senate President, David Mark, but he may be locked in a supremacy battle with the former Governor of the state, Dr Gabriel Suswan, who is the acclaimed leader of the PDP in the state.
With Ortom’s return to the party, Suswan is expected to collapse his structure for the incumbent governor; however, if this not properly handled it may not augur well for the fortunes of the party in the state.
Also, the party’s governorship candidate in 2015 election, Dr.
Terhemen Tarzoor, alongside 12 others have kicked against the governor’s return to the party he abandoned to pursue his governorship ambition in the APC in last general elections after he lost in the PDP primaries.
Failure of the party to address their grievances may lead to another crisis within its camp.
Another state worthy of mention is Kwara state, where its Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has hinted on the likelihood of moving to the PDP any moment from now.
The President of the Senate, who is also from the state is said to be ready to move at anytime.
Once, the duo move to the party, its structure becomes theirs.
In 2015, governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kwara state in 2011, Mr.
Dele Belgore, left APC for the PDP because of Saraki’s political influence.
At the moment, Belgore is a member of PDP and the raging question is whether he will surrender this time around? Similarly, some of the Saraki’s former political allies like Professor Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem and Alhaji Yinka Aluko, who contested the same senatorial seat with him are still members of the party.
Would they carve in for the senate president? What about all the governorship candidates on the platform of the party, is there hope insight for their aspirations? These are some of the challenges the national leadership of PDP should address before the election.
Doomsday looms Another impeding storm in the PDP is the allegation made by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, that the leadership of the party had offered all the defectors from APC to the party automatic ticket.
“Mr.
Chairman, they (PDP) are poaching members and they will continue to poach.
I have heard and even ashamed to say it that members are being offered mouth-watering figures in terms of cash and I say mouth-watering and members have rejected those cash.
Mr.
Chairman, not only are they being offered mouth-watering cash, but they are being given automatic tickets and I say to members, the people who are complaining about internal democracy’’, he alleged.
Though his allegation could not be confirmed as at the time of this report, a member of the PDP in Kwara state, Akeem Lukman, told our correspondent that such development spells doom for the party.
“Imagine the party we worked for.
We suffered intimidation and hunger for almost three and half years, but look at what our party is saying now, that he would give automatic tickets to the defectors.
What will now be our reward? This may have negative effect on party,” he said.
Aggrieved PDP members’ threat While the PDP is basking in the euphoria of winning more prominent members to its side, some of its members have threatened to dump the party if it attaches more importance to the new entrants against their interest and integrity.
Speaking on this development, Chairman of the PDP in Kwara state, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, said he cannot work with the APC defectors led by Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Though Saraki and Governor AbdulFattah Ahmed are expected to announce their own defection soon, two senators from the state, Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North) and Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South) as well as six members of the House of Representatives from the state were among the federal legislators that defected from the APC on Tuesday.
Oyedepo, who spoke while featuring on a radio programme in Ilorin, said: “Our national body said they have set up a committee to meet with the two sides next week and when that meeting comes up we are going to tell the national that we cannot accept the formula they have put down which is 60:40, 60 per cent for a state defecting with the governor and 40 percent for the existing PDP members.
And if they said what of 50:50, or 40:60 or 30:70 or even 10:90, we shall not accept; we cannot accept any offer.
Anything less than our not working together we cannot accept.
“So, we will tell our national body to choose between us and them and I know that they will not choose us because we don’t have money but we are not worried.
We will only know that an end has come to our journey and our relationship (in the PDP).
“If we agree to work with them (Saraki), just imagine myself and (Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed) Maigida standing on the same rostrum pledging to do things for the people.
It will be a shame; many people will look at me and wonder what has happened.
So, it is better not to be in politics again.
Instead of a dog being the treasurer for the lion it is better for both to part ways and go on their separate hunting game.
“The blame is not from the Saraki camp, the blame is from our national leaders in the PDP.
Leadership in Nigeria is the conspiracy of the elite to punish the downtrodden.
When they gave us the party, we inherited nothing and so whatever you see in the PDP today is the product of our efforts.
For this alone we should not be interested in defecting from our own house but it is better we do so now and look forward to better future for our dear state.” Similarly, a close ally of Alhaji Lukman Mustapha, who is one of the PDP governorship aspirants in the state, who did not want his name in the print, told Blueprint Weekend that is boss may dump the PDP for APC.
The source disclosed that talks are going with the leadership of the APC on the possible way of absolving his boss into the party, saying that Mustapha, who is the founder of Sobi FM in Ilorin, is not ready to bury his aspiration to govern the state.
“I can confirm to you that talks are ongoing with the leadership of the APC.
We are negotiating as a block and once the talks have been finalised, we will move out of the PDP.
We can’t stay in the same party with them (Saraki and Ahmed).
“They can’t come and hijack the party from us.
What were their contributions to the party in the last three years? We are moving out in droves if our interest and integrity are not considered by the national leadership of the PDP,” the source said.
As the APC counts its losses and re-strategises ahead of the general elections, PDP is in a joyful mood, however, how long will this lasts, only events of the days to come will tell.
