Indications emerged on Sunday that Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State may have perfected his defection plans despite holding peace meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari and other stakeholders last week.
Baring any last minute change of plans, some close associates of the governor might likely defect this week as a precursor to the governor’s impending defection.
They are aggrieved by the rejection of the nomination of Amosun’s anointed governorship candidate, Mr. Adekunle Akinlade and a few others by the national leadership of the party.
It was gathered that the governor’s loyalists have already cut deals with other political parties, including the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and the Action Democratic Party (ADP), ahead of their defection from the APC.
It was learnt as well that a serving commissioner in Amosun’s government co-ordinated discussions with the DPP while one of the three vice chairmen of the APC in the state handled the deal with the ADP.
Sources said the first move by the Amosun camp to leave the APC was made as soon as the APC national secretariat refused to accept the result of the primaries that produced Akinlade as governorship candidate.
The move has the full backing of the governor although he himself has vowed to stay on in the APC.
One of the governor’s allies involved in the deal said: “It is a move serious politicians should expect.
“We know we are the popular ones across the state. APC cannot win in Ogun State without Amosun and his people.
“But we can do it alone if APC refuses to recognize our worth. We saw the treachery going on and we thought of pre-empting the situation. What you are seeing playing out didn’t just happen. We saw the need and we acted.”
The group was locked in a strategic meeting at press time to determine which of the two platforms -DPP and ADP- is best placed to help Akinlade in realizing his governorship ambition.
Another source in the group said the affected associates, aides and supporters of the governor will announce their defection from the APC in a matter of days.
The source said: “They will also announce their new political party. Many of them will emerge as substitute candidates of the chosen party upon their official defection during the week.
“All is set for Amosun’s people to call the bluff of the APC and its national leaders.”
On Amosun’s continued membership of the APC, the source said: “That is one of the issues that delayed the move till now.
“While some of our leaders see the need for Amosun to remain in the APC for strategic reasons, some others are of the opinion that it is better and more effective for him to lead his camp out of the APC.
“Before now, there was the fear that even Amosun might be denied the Ogun Central Senatorial ticket. But he got it and two of our people also got the other senatorial tickets.
“There is need to decide whether they should hold on to the tickets or drop them and pick the tickets of the party to be adopted. All these will be ironed out at the meeting today. But one thing is sure; our group will not stay in the APC and work for Dapo Abiodun.
“Already, we have our people as candidates of both the DPP and ADP across the state. The deals with the party will be ready to substitute the names they submitted to INEC with the names of our people once we join their party. While DPP submitted the names of people who gave them to stand in for our real candidates across the state, the ADP assured us that once we choose their party, our candidates will be forwarded as substitutes.”
Some prominent aides and associates of Amosun have already been named as candidates of the DPP in the list of National Assembly candidates released last week by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye; a Senior Special Assistant to Amosun, Alhaji Bola Adeyemi and the Governor’s Special Adviser on Energy, Chief Taiwo Fagbemi, are named as DPP’s senatorial candidates for Ogun East, Central and West district respectively.
Also, former APC chairman for Egbado South Local Government, Odebiyi Safiu Abiodun, is DPP’s House of Representatives candidate for Egbado South /Ipokia Federal constituency, a younger brother
Tag: Defection
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2019: Amosun’s defection plan thickens as top aides move to dump APC for ADP, others
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Zamfara APC crisis: Yari hints on defection plans after controversial primaries
…insists no amount of pressure will make him leave APC
Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, on Friday said that he has been under intense pressure to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with his supporters.
Yari, who is the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.
He also handed over the results of the primaries conducted in the state to the President after the Jumaat prayer.
He promised that despite the pressure from his people to dump the APC, he will remain with the party and fight against any injustice.
According to him, his supporters were aggrieved over the turn out of events following the party leadership’s refusal to acknowledge the primaries conducted last week in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had also barred the APC from fielding any candidates for the 2019 poll in Zamfara for not conducting primary elections in the state.
He explained that the development has caused frustration among his supporters.
The governor also warned the national leadership of the party not to present any list that did not emanate from the primaries conducted before the expiration of the deadline for the primaries in the state.
Reacting to reports of his purported romance with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on the social media, Yari, who was flanked by the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, said, “I don’t know whether that is a joke or otherwise.
“But for me, if you check my history since 1998, APP, and 2002 when Buhari joined ANPP, and 2015 APC, no time that I shifted from one party to another. That is not in my culture. So, the issue of leaving the party is not true.
“But some other people are sending rumour through the social media. I have seen my picture with the PDP and other parties. Yes, I cannot deny pressure from the people that we should leave APC but what I told them is that what we are looking for is just justice.
“We conducted election and we want to see what the result is going to look. But I think for any body to come under the national secretariat and say he is going to nominate a candidate, I think, it is a very huge joke.” he said
The Zamfara State Governor wondered why the INEC could claim that there were no primaries in the state when the government agencies including the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the electoral umpire was at hand to monitor the process in the state.
He said though there were some hitches in some places in the state that made the committee to postpone primary elections in the affected areas, the process he said was concluded the next day.
He said, “There were hitches somewhere but we decided to suspend the area there were problems until the following day. So, the following day, we continued and we concluded the election by the people nominated by that committee to conduct election but the committee ran away and refused to collate the results.
“So, what we did was that we filed the results and kept it under the watch of those people and waited to see what was going to happen. The second committee waited 32 hours to the closing, we thought the committee will hasten and come up with modalities for the election.
“But committee wasted about 18 hours discussing about how the modalities were going to be. So, when we realised that, we were actually advised by the supervisory agency that is INEC and other agencies there that the best thing to do as the people had voted and since it was 7am was to start counting.
“When they finished, they released the materials and we adopted the numbers. Already, we had produced our own set of forms for the national Assembly which we have done and then, when we concluded, I didn’t see members of the committee until one and half hours to the time.
“Then, when they came I asked them what they came for, they said they came for reconciliation and I said which reconciliation? People can not reconcile over a month and you are trying to reconcile in an hour. Then, I realised that there was a game that was being played so that we can run out of time.” he said
According to him, the national body of APC had other crude ways to produce candidates contrary to section 87 of the Electoral Act that the party must follow a process before producing any candidate.
“Therefore, the most important is that we conducted election on the 3rd and 4th of October and all agencies, INEC, Civil Defence, Police, and DSS were there and they signed for us and the report was written by the REC that elections were conducted.
“Unfortunately, for the INEC to say that there was no election, we don’t know where they got their information but we believe they have a report directly from their representative there that election was held in Zamfara state, so, it depends on what they want to do.
“But, in any way, we were advised when the chairman of the committee came out and said there was no election in Zamfara state, we realised it was going to be a litigation issue. We quickly rushed to court, we filed a case and the case is coming up next week.
“So, I think that is the only saving grace for the party and INEC for court of competent jurisdiction to give judgement on Zamfara matter that there was election.” he stated. -
Defections: Why we suspended impeachment moves against Saraki, Ekweremadu – Senate Leader
The Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, on Friday gave indication that peace has returned to the National Assembly and no need to impeach Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Prior to the reconvening of the National Assembly on Tuesday, Lawan had declared at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Convention at the Eagle Square on Saturday night that APC will not allow leadership of the National Assembly run away with its mandate.
While the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu has been of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Senate President, Bukola Saraki had recently defected from the APC to the PDP.
But speaking on the crisis with State House correspondents on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Lawan said “I don’t know what informed your view to anticipate crisis but let me tell you that NASS will continue to remain focus on national issues, we must be patriotic, nationalistic, we must put national interest above individual, parochial or partisan interest.
“We definitely have to bury our hatchets for us to work for Nigeria and Nigerians perhaps that might have informed the disappointment of many people that there will be crisis in the National Assembly.
“Let me also say that disagreements are usual, in fact they are very practical components of any parliament, when you have 2 to 3 parties or even within parties you will have views that may differ.
“It is traditional, it is usual for us to disagree maybe this disagreements may crop up and some other issues but for now our focus is on national interest.” he said
Asked if the idea of impeachment has been dropped, he said “The National Assembly is a Nigerian parliament and therefore the best thing to do is to ensure that Nigerians gets a good deal and for now the good deal is for Nigeria to have all those pending request of Mr President approved by the National Assembly.
“I think the national interest for now override any other interest.” he said
Speaking further on the resumption day, he said “Well you could see from day one, day one Tuesday was not an eventful day because the National Assembly lost a member, a member from Kwara. So traditionally, we normally don’t work on such a day when the death will be officially announced.
“But Wednesday and Thursday witnessed the focus and concentration of members of the National Assembly on the request of Mr President for the funding of INEC for elections to be conducted in 2019 and we passed in the Senate and the House did also.
“We passed the request of Mr President for N189 billion for INEC activities for 2019.On Thursday the committee on appropriation invited the head of the security agencies to come and defend the request that Mr President made on their behalf for funding of their supervisory and oversight roles during the elections in 2019.
“We also had the referral of the request of Mr President approval for foreign loan component of the 2018 appropriation and that is about 2.78 billion dollars eurobond. We have gone full blast consciously, purposely to ensure that Mr President gets what’s he request, we lost time because some of the issues were requested for before we went on our recess.
“But we have also in the Senate passed confirmations of the CBN deputy governor, ICPC governing body and we are determined to continue to do this throughout this period.
“Our intention is to ensure that Mr President doesn’t lack from inactivity of the NASS that whatever he requests, the fundamentals aspects especially will be attended to, this is our determination both as APC senators infact as senate and National Assembly.” he added -
Anyim speaks on closed door meeting with Buhari, defection plans
Former Senate President, Pius Anyim has reacted to widespread news of his closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the state house on Friday.
The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) insisted that his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari transcends partisan politics and should not be seen as a prelude to his defection to the All Progressives Congress.
“My friendship with President Buhari transcends politics,” he said when contacted on Friday night.
Recall that Anyim met with the president in camera on Friday afternoon, an unusual and unexpected mingling in which many are already seeing a political undertone.
Similar visits by politicians who were not previously aligned with Buhari often resulted in them defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Perhaps the biggest and most recent of such realignments came on August 8 when Godswill Akpabio, a PDP stalwart, moved to the APC.
Prior to the move, Akpabio held talks with Mr Buhari, and later with other APC leaders, behind closed doors.
Anyim was also once questioned by the anti-graft EFCC, but detectives did not immediately say whether they found anything incriminating he did while in office and no charges were filed.
Some politicians have been accused of moving to the APC to escape EFCC prosecution, but Mr Anyim assured that he was not joining the APC under any immediate circumstances.
“The idea that I met with the president to lay the groundwork for my defection does not arise at all,” he emphasised.
“I have been friends with the president for a long time and I will continue to be for a long time,” Mr Anyim added. “We can be friends without aligning politically.”
Anyim said he had arrived in Port-Harcourt for the PDP national convention on Saturday.
“I came into Port-Harcourt this evening to participate in our national convention tomorrow,” he said. -
Defection: We’ll carry out APC’s order on Dogara when House reconvenes – Rep
Lawmaker representing Akoko-Edo in the House of Representatives, Peter Akpatason on Wednesday said loyal members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House will carry out the party’s instruction on Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
Akpatason spoke to journalists in Benin on Wednesday, against the backdrop of the recent defection of the speaker to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said that when the house reconvened, “the needful” would be done regarding the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly.
The lawmaker however emphasised that whatever that would be done to address the issue, would be according the law of land.
According to the former NUPENG President, it is an aberration for a member of another political party to continue to be speaker of the house of the representatives.
“We, as party loyalists, will carry out any instruction we get from the party. We will study the situation when we get back. Whatever the situation is will be what we will react to.
“We cannot be happy to have a speaker that belongs to another party. It is an aberration and has to be treated as such,” he said.
Speaking on the ongoing APC primaries, Akpatason, who is seeking a return ticket to the House of Representatives, said his constituent were in support of his third term bid.
According him, the postponement of the party’s primaries for the NASS would make the aspirants to lose money.
He said that any money already given out for “logistics” would not be returned when elections were postponed.
The lawmaker also warned the APC leadership against manipulation of the party’s primaries.
Akpatason noted that direct primaries was not prone to manipulation like the indirect primaries in which delegates could be bribed.
According to him, whoever is planning to manipulate the primaries does not love the party hence the need to watch out for moles.
“Such a person wants the APC to lose in the main election. If this election is manipulated, chances of the APC winning the general elections will be slim.
“In a situation where you sit down and select people based on sentiments and not on individual popularity and ability to win elections, people will have other options,” he added. -
Uduaghan’s defection: ‘We are Stronger,’ Gov. Okowa’s aide reacts
Personal Assistant to Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has reacted to the recent defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) of Emmanuel Uduaghan, immediate past governor of the State.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Uduaghan defected from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (APC) on Tuesday and immediately attended with President Muhammadu Buhari the APC national caucus meeting that held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“Politics is a game of interest, no permanent friend and no permanent enemy. On the current defection, there is no panic because we are Stronger,” Ossai Ovie Success, PA to Gov. Okowa on Media, stated on Wednesday.
Uduaghan, who served two terms as governor of Delta State after former Governor James Onanefe Ibori, made his defection to the APC known in a statement he personally signed and exclusively sent to TNG before his meeting with Buhari.
Ibori and Okowa had intervened to convince Uduaghan to remain in the PDP to no avail.
In the statement, Uduaghan revealed that he is going into APC as “John the Baptist” to the numerous Deltans that are coming in soon, very soon, behind him.
He said that since the inception of the current APC administration at the federal level, there has been an encouraging interest and activities by Buhari to bring a permanent solution to the Niger Delta question.
“This has pointed in a direction that is at once progressive and developmental. Rather than using the military to harass our people, the Buhari administration has embarked on various engagement processes that have led to agreements and brought hope to the people of the Niger Delta,” Uduaghan said.
Read Uduaghan’s full statement below:
The toughest challenge for any leader in the Niger Delta since 1997 has been the issue of Peace and Security. For over 12 years, I was deeply involved in the management of the issues of the region, first as Secretary to State Government, SSG, and then as Governor of Delta State for 8 years.
Strategically, we had ENGAGEMENT as our major tool. This involved government officials, with me in the forefront (sometimes personally going into the creeks without security at nocturnal hours), community leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, our youths, retired military officers, activists, etc. Of course, ensuring that Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, was active was also part of the engagement process.
Since the inception of the current All Progressives Congress, APC, administration at the federal level, there has been an encouraging interest and activities by President Muhammadu Buhari to bring a permanent solution to the Niger Delta crisis. This has pointed in a direction that is at once progressive and developmental.
Topmost in these activities are the ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES. Rather than using the military to harass our people, the Buhari administration has embarked on various engagement processes that have led to agreements and brought hope to the people of the Niger Delta. In the last years, Mr. President has personally engaged several regional leaders and youths.
Senior officials of his administration also engaged many Niger Delta leaders and youths. Very significant is that Mr. President mandated the Vice President Prof Yemi Osibajo SAN, to visit virtually all the oil producing states, engaging various stakeholders. This is unprecedented in the history of the region. Such engagement processes have brought some measure of peace in the Niger Delta. Things can only get better.
Beyond the engagement processes, however, the Buhari administration has embarked on some infrastructural and human capital development activities in the region. In Delta State, the opening of a Maritime University; the setting up of a steering committee for the EPZ (GAS CITY), the plan for a deep sea port, the dredging of the Escravos-Warri River; the opening of the railway line to Delta Steel Company, the soon to be flagged off, by Mr.
President, the Omadino-Escravos Road that will pass through many riverine communities; the various road construction works by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the various TCN projects across the State are some of the positive activities in the region.
There are also various human capital development programmes especially the school feeding and the “social security net” that is making 5,000 Naira available to the poor, the continuation of the YouWin programme, the various SME programmes, and several other projects across the region have brought hope to the people.
Indeed, once Mr. President was able to set his priorities pursuant to creating an environment for peace in the region, it became incumbent on every well-meaning Niger Deltan and Nigerian to assist the process of building an economically prosperous nation.
In this era of partisan politics, it is necessary for the people of the Niger Delta, and Delta State in particular, to identify more with the Federal Government led by the APC. By so doing, we can push some of the agreements between our leaders and the Federal Government through, and also engage the government to do more.
Politics is about interests. The Niger Delta is a major area of interest for me, because I staked my life going into the creeks severally without security and sometimes coming back at night negotiating peace. I will, therefore, give the strongest support to any President that shows commitment in the affairs of the Niger Delta. I call on, and enjoin, other well-meaning leaders in the region, who have very useful contributions to make, to come on board and join hands in helping this Federal Government to pursue a robust development agenda that would uplift our people. Whatever milestone that appears not to have been achieved yet is not for lack of efforts. Joining hands with and supporting the process will lead to a faster delivery on expectations.
It is in the pursuit of this noble objective that I’m offering myself to help drive a process that would give the lives of our people in the Niger Delta more meaning. President Muhammadu Buhari needs people who will join hands with him to uplift our people. From my political experience, you have to be well represented and actively so at the “board room” when decisions are being taken. Delta State must be well represented. Niger Delta must be well represented.
It is noteworthy to state that some organisations have been deeply involved in efforts to develop the Niger Delta and can always be relied on to collaborate with our President. It is also noteworthy to add that some previous administrations made significant efforts to develop the region. The current administration made such a significant impact in spite of the fact that apart from Edo State, President Buhari did not score the required 25% in the entire Niger Delta in the election that brought him into government in 2015. This speak volumes of his genuineness to uplift the Niger Delta. Such an administration should be encouraged by the people of the Niger Delta. We can never be sure of the genuiness of another person who becomes the President.
I have, therefore, after series of consultations and prayers, taken the decision to leave the PDP and join the APC. In doing this, I want to thank the numerous leaders, supporters and interest groups that have been urging me to remain in PDP. I am happy that after explaining some of the deeper issues to you, some of you that are politicians have agreed to join the APC in the near future. So I am going into APC as “John the Baptist” to the numerous Deltans that are coming in, soon – very soon.
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‘I have not decamped,’ Adolor Okotie-Eboh declares
Chief Adolor Okotie-Eboh says he has not defected to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State that he remains a staunch member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that Chief Okotie-Eboh and a number of his followers had left the APC at the visit of former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to the State.
“Its not true,” Okotie-Eboh told TheNewsGuru (TNG); stressing: “I only accompanied my friend, Kwankwaso, on a courtesy visit to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and nothing more than that”.
Kwankwaso, a PDP presidential aspirant, paid a consultation visit to Governor Okowa and Delta PDP stakeholders at the Unity Hall Government House Asaba with the APC Chieftain in his entourage.
“I have not decamped. Kwankwaso is my bosom friend, and I am still a member of the APC. If and only if I am going to decamp, it would be made official,” he told TNG.
Addressing issues bothering on the current crisis in the Delta APC, Okotie-Eboh said, “The whole issue is being handled by the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole.
“I understand there is a panel being set up by the National Chairman that will be coming to Delta to carry out harmonization of the party. I believe that will happen next week”.
Speaking on the presidential aspiration of Kwankwaso, Okotie-Eboh said, “Anybody is free to aspire for any political position, and Kwankwaso’s case is not different.
“Like I said earlier, he is my friend and I only accompanied him since he was in my State”.
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Defection: House of Reps Deputy Speaker states position
Mr Yusuf Lasun, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, says he will not leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) inspite of losing the party’s governorship primary in Osun.
Addressing a news conference on Sunday in Osogbo, Lasun alleged that though there was a conspiracy against him in the primary, he would not leave the party.
The Deputy Speaker was among the 17 aspirants that contested the APC governorship primary in the state on July 20.
Lasun came second with 21,000 votes, while Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, the Chief of Staff to Gov. Aregbesola won the primary with 127,017 votes.
He said: “Although I was conspired against during the governorship primary, but I will not leave the party.
“I am still attending all the party’s functions to that effect.
“My supporters and I are still members of the APC and we are not intending to leave the party in the nearest future.
“We will do our best to support the party during the Sept. 22 (governorship) election.
“I know in every contest, there will be a winner, whether it is free or not.”
Lasun, who also alleged that the party did not reach out to him after the primary, said “maybe the party felt I don’t have anything to contribute.’’
The deputy speaker also claimed that many politicians in the state had been alienated from the party due to the agitation over the primary.
“We hope the party members will be able to put behind them all that happened during the primary,’’ he said.
Asked whether he had reached out to the winner of the governorship primary by congratulating him, Lasun said he had not.
“I did not congratulate the winner of the primary because when I became the deputy speaker in 2015, the party did not congratulate me.
“And till today, nobody told me what my offence was except that some people were saying that I went against the party’s position.
“But for me, what they were referring to as party position was actually the position of few leaders of the party,’’ Lasun said.
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Defection: ‘All is not well with Akpabio in APC’
…reality settles on friends and foes of the former Akwa Ibom governor
After the flamboyance and glitter that went with the news of his defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the reality is coming to dawn among friends and foes of the former Senate Minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
As no one feels the shoe like the one who wears it, Akpabio is undoubtedly the first person to feel the positive and negative consequence of his shocking but not totally unexpected decision to leave his comfort zone to the pool of sharks.
First, like the popular sobriquet of his new political friends, All Promises Cancelled, Akpabio has been baptised with the first failed promise with the party not able to deliver the well-reported promise of Senate President to him.
If the party made the promise and Akpabio believed it, it would have been a Herculean task given the parade of APC senators like George Akume, Ahmad Lawan among others that have been queuing up for the coveted position.
The promise of Senate President was expected to trigger a bandwagon that would have caused many otherwise feckless political minds to go with him to the APC. As it is, Akpabio has failed to trigger the bandwagon, and only his brother and a former personal aide he made a commissioner in the Udom Emmanuel cabinet went with him to the APC.
In the state House of Assembly, only two of the 27 members he put in the House of Assembly considered his junket worth it to go with him to the APC.
So on both sides, APC may have failed to deliver the Senate Presidency to Akpabio and Akpabio on his part has also failed to trigger the political meltdown in the state.
A week after the defection, women in thousands came out on Wednesday, August 15, 2018, to the streets of Uyo, the state capital to express solidarity with Governor Udom Emmanuel. Unlike the crowd that were bussed in from outside the state and who could not understand the local language on the day Akpabio defected, the women who demonstrated for Emmanuel were local women who knew one another and conversed in the language against the strange spirit that had come over Akpabio.
Still, on promises, the APC may, however, be keeping up with the promise of protecting the former governor of Akwa Ibom State from the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Given the zeal with which the EFCC has taken to freezing the accounts of state governments as with Benue and Akwa Ibom States, it is undoubtedly reassuring for someone like Akpabio that the same EFCC would for now overlook the petitions that have been levelled against him over his activities as governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Of course, the many projects that were earmarked for which money was reportedly paid for but not completed would not concern the anti-graft agencies. The seeming double standard could well be reflective of the popular mantra in town that defection to the APC is the quickest way to sainthood in Nigeria.
However, for the many citizens of Akwa Ibom, who had been bemused over the decision of Akpabio to join a political party he once stridently criticised and opposed, the reality is also dawning on them.
Many who did not believe the possibility of Akpabio defecting came to the stadium that decisive day to witness the occasion; they were Doubting Thomases who went to the Ikot Ekpene Stadium with the mind that unless they saw the man raise the broom that they would not believe.
For these and many others, reality has dawned, and they have believed that Akpabio has finally left the PDP to the APC.
However, the reality is also dawning on many APC chieftains whose party has now welcomed Akpabio into their fold.
The reality for them is that almost all of the leading APC chieftains were driven to that party by Akpabio. From Chief Donald Etiebet, the leader of the APC caucus in the state, Chief Umana Umana who was betrayed by Akpabio at the point of his succession, Mr. Nsima Ekire who was almost impeached as deputy governor under Akpabio, Eseme Eyiboh who was rushed out of the House of Representatives among several others, Akpabio has to adjust to the reality of dwelling among his enemies.
What of Senator James Akpanudoedehe, the man who was among the first to revolt against Akpabio and became the father of the opposition before Umana and Nsima came and shoved him aside.
Akpanudoedehe was the manager of Akpabio’s first governorship campaign for the 2007 election. However, two or three years later he had become so disenchanted that he left the PDP to head the opposition that was nurtured in the then Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and fought Akpabio to a standstill in the 2011 governorship election.
Indeed, the controversy over how Akpanudoedehe is relating with those who recently came from the PDP to join the APC was yet to settle before Akpabio came on board.
Indeed, in an interview he gave to a national newspaper recently, Akpanudoedehe was quoted to have said: “These were the people whose government charged me for treason, murder, arson. There was nothing they did not do when I brought the opposition to the state. They are the ones now singing Halleluya. And with their evil collaborators, they rewarded them with offices and they now rally round them because of the contracts from NDDC.”
So even when they were yet to settle issues among themselves, Akpabio came into the fray to further muddle an already stormy situation. The fact that Akpabio was named the head of the party in the state is something that is also bound to ruffle feathers.
If the leading chieftains of the APC in Akwa Ibom State share the common factor of having been chased out of the PDP to the APC and the man that chased them has now been named as their leader in their new home, it is a shivering reality that is bound to unnerve many.
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Defections: Saraki speaks on possibility of declaring Akpabio’s seat vacant
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has reacted to news making the rounds that he might declare the seat of former Minority Leader, Senator God’swill Akpabio vacant over his recent defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The embattled Senate President said there were no plans to embark to relieve the senator of his legislative duties.
Recall that 15 serving senators last month defected from the ruling APC to main opposition party, PDP.
This was revealed in a statement by Saraki’s media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu.
“All that is mere talk,” he said. “People are making claims when we don’t even know when they’ll reconvene.”
The spokesperson was making reference to the current recess of the National Assembly which was expected to be suspended this week. However, Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, released a joint statement on Tuesday saying there was no date yet for the resumption.
Speaking further on the reports of plans to declare Akpabio’s seat vacant, Olaniyonu said, “There’s a lot to be done and we don’t even have time for all that one.”
He linked the reports to the travails of Saraki who risks losing his seat after the APC asked him to resign or be removed.
“These people should focus on other things and leave Saraki alone. They have turned the man into a superstar overnight,” Olaniyonu said.
He called on the public to ignore such reports saying the leadership of the National Assembly is focused on making the country better.
Earlier the Punch Newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying arrangements were being made to ensure that Akpabio, and others who defected recently from the PDP to the APC are removed or face a recall process.
According to the Punch, the source hinted that the move against the defectors started just before the Senate went on recess, with the alleged refusal of Mr Saraki to read the letter of defection submitted to him by Akpabio.
In his reaction, Akpabio said he is not perturbed over alleged plot to declare his seat vacant, the Vanguard Newspaper reports.
Akpabio who spoke to select journalists in Abuja, described the insinuations as mere rumour. He also said there is no division in his new party, APC, at the moment; and so seats of those like Saraki who left the party should rather be declared vacant.
“Even as you are looking at me, do I look perturbed? I have not heard the report. Because the reason why I think that is a rumour is that there is, at the moment, no division in the APC. The APC is one family.
“If you hear about R-APC that was not really a political party. That was not a division, it has since been consumed in what they call Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP). So, there is no division. And so, any defection from APC to PDP, we will like to declare those seats vacant,” Vanguard quoted him as saying.