The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost some of its prominent chieftains to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in recent times. A reconciliation and strategy committee of the PDP, chaired by former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has been mandated to stem the gale of defections.
In July 2020, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, announced his defection from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The news of Dogara’s defection had caught the leadership of the PDP unawares. The ex-Speaker had cited irreconcilable political differences with the governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed. Dogara still represents the Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa federal constituency of Bauchi State in the House of Representatives. Four months after the ex Speaker’s defection, the Ebonyi State Governor, Mr Dave Umahi, who was the most visible among the PDP governours in the Southeast, joined Dogara in the ruling party in November 2020. Barely a week after Umahi’s defection, the senator representing Adamawa North senatorial district, Elisha Abbo, also announced his defection from the PDP to the APC. Another serving member of the House of Representatives, Datti Yako, from Kano, also in December, defected from the main opposition party to the ruling party. In September 2020, Senator Isa Hamman Misau, a political ally of Dogara also left the PDP for the APC. Misau represented the Bauchi Central district in the 8th Senate. He had defected from the APC to the PDP with Dogara before the 2019 general election. In April 2018, a former Osun State Deputy Governor, Senator Iyiola Omisore had dumped the PDP for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) when opposing forces within the PDP aligned against his bid for the party’s ticket for the 2018 Osun State governorship election. Omisore’s defection to the APC came about the same time as that of a former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel. Announcing his defection, Daniel had, a few days ago, declared that, “APC has captured me”. Daniel, who served as campaign manager for the PDP candidate in the 2019 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had tactically withdrawn his services a few days after the PDP lost the election. A former Deputy Governor and one-time Governor of Adamawa State, James Bala Ngilari, also in September 2020, dumped the PDP for the APC. A serving member of the House of Representatives from Kano, Datti Yako, also defected from the PDP to the APC in February 2021.
Media reports making the rounds indicate that three governors elected on the platform of the PDP are also planning to defect to the APC anytime soon. The governors named in the reports are Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) and Ben Ayade (Cross River). So, far, none of the three governors has debunked the reports linking them with plans to dump the PDP even as the rumour has continued to gain traction in the media space. Meanwhile, the Bauchi and Zamafara governors have been vocal in recent times. Analysts observe that most of their public statements on critical national issues appear to be in tandem with official positions, views and body language of the APC and some of its chieftains. Governor Ayade on his part has been aloof since he secured his reelection in 2019. Party sources in his Cross River base have attributed his seeming lack of commitment and apparent disinterest in the affairs of the PDP to the alleged frosty relationship between him and his political mentor, Senator Liyel Imoke who Ayade succeeded in 2015.
Apparently worried by the gale of defections, the leadership of the PDP has sprung into action, with a view to stemming the trend. A former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki who chairs the party’s reconciliation and strategy committee has been meeting with some key PDP stakeholders in the past few days. Prominent among those the Saraki committee members met with was former President Goodluck Jonathan at his Abuja residence. The meeting with Jonathan took place amid growing rapport between some leaders of the APC and the former President, a development that has triggered controversy and speculations in the media that the ruling party might be courting Dr Jonathan for the 2023 presidential race. And despite frequent meetings between Jonathan and the APC chieftains, the former president has continued to be non-committal in responding to questions about his rumoured moves to join the ruling party.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting with Jonathan, Saraki said those “disturbing” the former president into quitting the PDP should perish the thought as Jonathan remained a PDP man to the core. According to him, Jonathan was unwavering in his commitment to see the PDP bounce back to national reckoning, assuring that the former president would avail the PDP his experience, time and resources to return it to power, particularly at the centre.
Saraki had said: “We are members of the national reconciliation and strategy committee set up by the party and part of our task is to meet with our former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
We are starting off with our former President and we are here to let him know what our plans are and also to hear his own views and advice on what we need to do and how to do it as well as how we need to strengthen the party and reconcile aggrieved members in order to bring about unity and focus in our party.
He is also ready to work with the reconciliation committee to play his own role. That is a great step for the party. We have put that behind us. All those people of the other party would like to come and disturb our leaders. Our leaders are here and they are ready to work for the party”. The Saraki-led committee had held similar consultations in Abuja with former governors who got elected on the platform of the PDP and some of their deputies. The committee members had also met with members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) a day after meeting the ex-governors and their erstwhile deputies. The consultative meeting was extended to former military President, Ibrahim Babangida who received the committee members at his Minna, Niger State country home a few days ago. While in Minna, the committee members also paid a visit to another former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Saraki however said the visit to Gen Abubakar was non-political.
The former Senate President had sounded optimistic each time he addressed the media after meeting with the various stakeholders. According to him, the party has been making efforts to douse tension and ensure unity among the ranks and to give members a sense of belonging. As part of the measures, the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) has fixed March 6, 2021, for the party’s zonal congresses across the six geo-political zones. A statement on Wednesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said aspirants for the various offices are expected to submit their nomination forms by February 25, 2021. As part of the reconciliatory move, the leadership of the party has also announced the lifting of suspension order slammed on seven of its members in the House of Representatives. The affected members are Ndudi Elumelu, Toby Okechukwu, Wole Oke, Lynda Ikpeazu, Anayo Edwin, Gideon Gwani, and Adekoya Addul-majid. The members were suspended in July 2019 for supporting the emergence of Elumelu as Minority Leader in the House, against the party’s choice of Kingsley Chinda. The protracted leadership crisis in the Reps PDP caucus had caused friction between some party leaders and the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike who nominated Chinda for the position.
