We ‘ll humiliate you at the polls, APC tells Dogara

The All Progressives Congress, yesterday asked the Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to shun any return bid or suffer humiliating defeat.
Dogara, according to media report, is seeking to return to the Lower Chamber, using the opposition Peoples Democratic Party platform.
But the APC is cautioning him against the bid, describing him as a political paperweight who is not on ground in his home state of Bauchi.
The party’s position was contained in a statement signed by Acting National Publicity Secretary of APC, Yekini Nabena.
The statement reads: “We have received several media requests for a reaction to the purported defection of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt.
Hon. Yakubu Dogara from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to one of the opposition political parties, as reported in the media.
“In reacting, a recent comment by President Muhammadu Buhari, aptly sums Dogara’s reported defection: ‘The weakest people whose senses of expectation do not align with our vision have exited our party.’ “Dogara’s reported defection has not come to us as a surprise.
It was only a matter of time judging by Dogara’s anti-party antics in the National Assembly where in connivance with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, he exploited all available avenues to sabotage and undermine the APC-led executive.
“Dogara’s anti-party activities which enabled one of the opposition party’s sole victory in Bogoro Local Government Area (Dogara’s council) during the recent Bauchi South Senatorial bye-election won by the APC is another pointer, among several others.
“Indeed, all politics is local.
As a party, we empathise with Dogara on his confusion and despair over his bleak political future given the fact that he is not on ground and a political paperweight in his home Bauchi state.
“In his emergence as Speaker, Dogara was merely used by his political master to achieve their selfish political ends at the time.
They have since moved on to pursue their individual political aspirations and left Dogara in the cold.
“We would advise Dogara against his illadvised decision to recontest his House of Representatives seat under the opposition party he is linked with because a crushing and humiliating defeat surely awaits him.
“As a party, we remain united and committed to our Progressives ideologies.
We urge party faithful to consolidate on our strengths and collectively go into the 2019 general elections as a united and strong political fighting force to sustain the Change Agenda we are implementing for the benefit of Nigerians.” ‘Still consulting’ But Speaker Dogara has appealed to his constituents, who have insisted that he defects from the ruling APC to give him time to consult with his supporters in the party.
A statement by the Speaker’s spokesman, Turaki Hassan yesterday disclosed that hundreds of supporters of the Speaker from his Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal constituency of Bauchi State, presented the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) nomination and expression of interest forms to Dogara, and urged him to leave the ruling APC.
According to the statement, about 1,000 people from the Speaker’s constituency had thronged his Abuja residence, saying they decided to present the PDP forms for the Speaker as a result of high level injustice meted on them by the APC, noting that Hon.
Mohammed Aminu Tukur, Alhaji Adamu Jambil and Mrs.
Amina Saleh, who led the delegation and spoke on behalf of the constituents, said their new political platform is Dogara Peoples Party as they will follow him wherever he goes.
Addressing the delegation, Dogara said, “I have listened to you and I want to say that I am not a novice in politics.
So even if they do not regard us, they should know that we are in full control of our five senses.
We know what looks like justice and what is not justice, we also know if you want to humiliate or honour us.
“We built the APC in Bauchi and with time left the PDP and entered the APC.
I was the first and only lawmaker from Bauchi State that left the APC then and we knew why we left.
We also know what we promised the people of Bauchi State then…..This is not the first time we would face these of kind of threats and betrayal.
Our only fault is that we have chosen not to side with injustice or wrong….”.
Earlier, Tukur, a spokesman of the group, had said, “the day Buhari joined partisan politics in 2002, I was the only person from Bauchi that travelled and I have been with him since then.
Mr Speaker, I swear to almighty God that if He spared my life.
I and our people will vote for you and we urge you to heed to our cries and accept this form.
We pray that God returns you to your seat.
APC is not a religion as it is neither Islam nor Christianity.”

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