The Return-to-your party sort of reconciliation drive by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi -led National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be yielding success as dozens of aggrieved members are returning to PDP, across the country. But this time around the catch of a ‘Big Fish’ in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, recently, left the party in upbeat euphoria. DONALD IORCHIR reports
Members and offi cials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), were in jubilant mood last weekend, following the return to the party of a top member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Hassan Bako Kuje, who declared that the ruling party does not encourage internal democracy.
Th e decampee along with his supporters were received amidst fanfare at the party’s Secretariat in Kuje by elated offi cials who stated that the hope of unseating the All Progressives Congress in the FCT in 2018 chairmanship election was becoming brighter than before.
Bako, who was a member of the PDP before decamping to contest the last area council election under the APC, told party faithful that it was a mistake to have left the PDP for the APC, pointing out that the internal democracy that the APC promised was a fake and non -existent as people were simply handpicked by infl uential party leaders to contest elections.
He said APC, contrary to popular belief, does not have internal party democracy and some of us felt that we cannot put up with that type of unpopular practice.
According to him, the PDP is by far a better party and we have returned to build it up in the FCT,” Alhaji Bako said.
While receiving the APC members back to the PDP, the former vice Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Alhaji Baba Danjuma Mohammed and the Kuje PDP Ward central chairman, Alhaji Danlami Tanko said the party will be better equipped now to defeat the APC in the next election declaring that Bako has simply returned to his family members.
Th e Kuje Women Leader [Ethnics], Mrs. Tani Adebisi Kuti, called on PDP members to embrace the decampee with open arms and love so that he can work for the progress of the party in the next elections.
One of the elders in the party, Alhaji Yunusa Isa Ciroma urged party members to commence grassroots mobilisation without delay and not to wait until the last moment before educating the grassroots people on the advantages or what the people stand to gain by voting out the APC after several years of recession and suff ering.
Th e PDP Youth leader in Kuje, Abdulhameed Idris Sabo, also called on the PDP youths in the area council to mobilise and return to the fi eld with determination reminding them that the APC did nothing for the youths since coming to office.
When contacted to comment on the defection of Alhaji Bako to the PDP, the APC Chairman in Kuje Area council, Mr. Godwin Z. Poyi, said the politician has no electoral value and has worked against the APC since losing out at the primaries to the incumbent chairman of Kuje Area council.
He said the movement of Bako and his supporters to PDP will not aff ect the chances of the party in next election, adding that Alhaji Bako was already working against the APC since he lost the primary and we are even happy that he has left instead of pretending to be an APC member”.
