Why We Dumped PDP For APC — Kebbi Senators
Senate Leader: Tinubu Not Coercing Defectors To Join APC
The planned revival by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suffered a significant setback as fresh wave of defections have rocked the major opposition party in the country.
The Matrix Newspaper reports that three senators from Kebbi State defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
With the recent defections, the ruling APC now holds 68 seats in the Senate, increasing its majority, while the PDP further drops to 30.
This latest setback is coming a few days after leaders of the party held a high-staked meeting with a vow to bounce back from its woes.
As parts of efforts towards the party’s resurgence, a reconciliation committee headed by a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki was set up to reconcile aggrieved members ahead of its National Executive Council Meeting and National Convention.
With the committee yet to get down to work, Senators Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South) announced their defections during Tuesday’s plenary through separate letters to the President of the Senate, which were read by Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau.
Explaining the motivations behind their decisions, the Senators cited the PDP’s internal crisis and disconnection from the aspirations of Nigerians.
In his letter, Aliero described his decision as a product of “deep reflection, extensive consultations, and a careful assessment of the political and socio-economic realities” in Nigeria.
“Politics must never be about personal loyalty to a platform; it will always be about service, solutions and results,” Aliero said.
He lamented that the PDP had become riddled with internal divisions, lacked ideological clarity, and had failed to offer a credible, forward-looking agenda. Conversely, he said the APC under the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda had shown signs of transformation.
“Nigeria must move forward, and today, I move forward with the people, for the people, and in the interest of our shared future,” he added.
Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, who had left the APC in 2022 due to state-level political rifts, said the issues that led to his defection had since been resolved by Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State.
“For me, going back to the APC is a homecoming event,” he said, adding that rejoining the party was “politically imperative” to support President Bola Tinubu’s development agenda.
Senator Garba Maidoki cited the lingering crisis in the PDP and his alignment with APC’s ideals as reasons for his switch.
He also highlighted the improved security situation in his senatorial district, crediting recent government actions.
“This will enable me to participate fully in the Renewed Hope agenda for the benefit of my district and Nigeria at large,” Maidoki stated.
Meanwhile, leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele on Tuesday justified the defection of all federal lawmakers from Kebbi State to the APC, noting that the ruling party “is now running a government of national unity.”
Bamidele, currently representing Ekiti Central in the upper chamber, noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not coerce any member of the opposition political parties to defect to the APC contrary to public criticism.
He made this clarification at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly Complex, Abuja on Tuesday when all federal lawmakers from Kebbi State formally announced their defection to the APC.
After their announcement on Tuesday, Bamidele defended the defection of the federal lawmakers to the APC, noting that their decision was based on the overriding public interest and had nothing to do with turning Nigeria into a one-party state.
He, thus, noted that the ruling party “will not close our doors to anyone intending to join the party. In the same way, we will not also discriminate against anyone either on the basis of religion, tribe or any other factor. Our doors will continue to be open for more people to join at all levels.
“In the meantime, we will continue to work with the members of the minority political parties. It is not by sheer coincidence that virtually all political parties from the Young Progressives Party (YPP) to the Peoples Democratic Party have to join the ruling APC.
“Even APGA, which has not joined the ruling party, has also graciously nominated and donated a honourable minister of state to the Federal Government of Nigeria under the APC administration. That is to say what we now are running is a government of national unity,” he said.
Bamidele specifically commended the defectors for their decision to join the ruling APC while reflecting on how the PDP was coercing members of the opposition parties to defect to its fold when it was in government at the federal level.
He said: “We were all in this country when PDP was the ruling party. We saw all the things that happened under the PDP in an attempt to get more states, more seats in the Senate and more seats in the House of Representatives. We are not at the polls. No one is being coerced.
“If anyone is coerced, definitely the person is not Senator Adamu Aliero. All of us know that the person cannot be Senator Yahaya Abdullahi that will be co-opted. Neither will Senator Garba Maidoki with a stint in the private sector before he ventured into politics will defect to APC without clear conviction. They are not all in politics so that they can feed themselves and families.
“As far as we are concerned, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi that I know will rather stay in opposition and be very loud. They all recognise that this is not the time for grandstanding. This is the time for all of us to work together to take Nigeria to the next level.
“One of the defectors has been privileged to be the Governor of Kebbi State, precisely from 1999 to 2007. He even served as the Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Today, he is the most ranking member of the Senate.
“Another one has served as the Leader of the Senate in the 9th National Assembly. These are people who know what they are doing. They can never mislead the people of Kebbi State. They can never mislead Nigeria.
“For us in APC, this is a wonderful development. For those who are keenly watching political developments, rest assured that at the end of the day, this can only be for the good and greatness of Nigeria. To the rest of our colleagues on the minority isle, we will continue to work together for the progress of Nigeria.
“I say it again for the umpteenth time. Those who refer to this parliament as a rubber stamp parliament should note that we are at a very critical stage of our national life when all hands must be on deck.
“Today, it is not about which political party you belong to. Once you are in this hallowed chamber, it does not matter which political party you belong to. What matters to us all is the overriding public interest. In the course of collectively serving overriding public interests, three of our colleagues saw the need to cross to the ruling APC.’’
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment