The governors in the break-away faction are Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, said it is a good thing that those that defected have shown the world who they are and where they belong.
He said though two governors, Niger and Jigawa have disowned the defection, noting that the PDP will now be more focused and will not be distracted.
Gulak, however, said that a number of political bigwigs in the parties that formed APC have indicated interest to return to the PDP.
On the governor’s defection, Gulak said: “Well, I know as a fact that five of them say that they will now join APC, but I know two issued statements that they are not part of that, governors of Niger and of Jigawa states. If you are not aware, this is the fact on ground.
“And I believe those others, for a long time I have said it before that their hearts have not been in PDP but its good that they have shown the world that they have taken a stand so that PDP will not be distracted. A lot of people even in the APC, ACN ANPP have contacted me that they want to come back to the PDP and were just waiting for what happened today. And to us, it is a good development”., he said.
Meanwhile, a few minutes after the aggrieved governors made their position known, APC Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State met briefly behind closed doors with Jonathan. The parley which was held inside the President’s office lasted about 20 minutes.
In the House of Representatives yesterday, reactions of the lawmakers were mixed.
Whereas some legislators hailed the move and said it would help deepen democracy , others dismissed it as an exercise that was long expected.
Chief Whip, Hon Mohammed Ishaka Bawa (PDP,Taraba)said the G7 governors had the right to join any party they like. He said that their departure from PDP will not affect the ruling party.
He said “As the Nigerian constitution provides, they have the right to freedom of association; they have the right to launch any political party of their choice. Nobody is in PDP by force. You can decide to leave at any time you wish to.
“But what I want Nigerians to know is that PDP will continue to wax stronger despite all that is happening. This is not the first time in PDP; this is not the first time in the political development of Nigeria. I’ll like to take you back to 1983 when some progressive governors decided to leave their party; we have Nwobodo; we have Abubakar Barde, Abubakar Rimi and a host of them who left their party, but what was the result after they left?
Supporting Bawa’s views, Hon Nnanna Igbokwe(PDP,Imo) said the development will only make the ruling party to strategize and focus on things that will make it to meet the needs of the populace who he said are the ultimate decider of who should be elected into office.
But Sani Madaki(Kano,PDP) praised the move. He noted that they will follow the governors to the new party. He said, “we’ll follow our governors; there’s no doubt about it. We can’t continue to stay and face injustice. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, and this will eventually change the leadership in the House.
No comments:
Post a Comment