• Three Kebbi senators defect

Yesterday’s defection of three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators from Kebbi State into the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken the ruling party’s majority to 68 members in the Red Chamber.

The three senators – Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South) – dumped their party for the APC at plenary.

The trio on Friday visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Villa in Abuja to finalise the defection plan. 

But the PDP in Kebbi State chapter said the exit of the senators would in no way affect its fortune in the Northwest State.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kebbi State has said that the defection of the senators will not reduce its strength or prospects in the state.

They are the latest lawmakers to dump the main opposition party for the APC.

The defections reduced the number of PDP senators to 30.

Trailing the PDP is the Labour Party (LP) with five senators, Social Democratic Party (SDP) with two members. The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have one senator apiece.

Two seats from Edo and Anambra are vacant following the election of Monday Okpebholo (Edo Central) as governor and the demise of Anambra South Senator Ifeanyi Mbah.

Aliero, a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and onetime governor of the state, in a letter read on the floor of the Senate, said his decision followed “deep reflection, extensive consultations and careful assessment” of the political and socio-economic realities of the country and his constituency.

“I have made the decision to formally resign my membership of the PDP and rejoin the APC, of which I was a founding member.

“Politics must never be about personal loyalty to a platform. It will always be about service, solutions and results. 

“The PDP has become disconnected from the aspirations of the very Nigerians it seeks to lead,” he said, blaming the party’s internal divisions and lack of ideological clarity.

He expressed renewed confidence in the APC’s leadership, describing it as “a more viable platform through which I can effectively serve my constituents.”

Senator Abdullahi, former Senate Leader and Senator Maidoki echoed similar sentiments. 

Abdullahi in his letter, described his return to the APC as a “homecoming,” noting that the issues that led to his initial exit from the party in 2022 had been resolved by the current the governor.

“I believe it is in the best interest of the constituency that I represent to take this step. It is politically imperative for me to join President Bola Tinubu by providing my legislative knowledge and experience to support the efforts that the President is making in reinventing Nigeria.”

Reacting to the defections, the leadership of the Senate dismissed arguments that members of the opposition were moving to the ruling APC to avoid prosecution or for other sinister interests.

Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole, in their separate comments, noted that such defections are not strange in a democratic setting.

Bamidele said: “No one is being coerced. If anyone will be coerced, definitely it is not Senator Aliero, it is not Prof Yahaya Abdulahi that will be coerced. Neither is it Senator Maidoki who had also made a mark at the private sector before he came into politics to replicate the same feat.”

The Deputy Senate President who congratulated President Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, who was present at the Red Chamber to witness the defections, described the influx of defectors into the ruling party as an indication that both the President and the party chairman are working well. 

He said: “Let me congratulate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for this very big gain by the ruling party. Congratulation also goes to the national chairman of the party for this gain. Of course, he and the President have been working together and we have seen the results in the number of people coming to the party.

“It’s just a sign that the government is doing well and that’s why people are attracted because of the performance of the government.

“So, all we need to tell Mr. President is that we commend what he’s doing. We also commend the government of Kebbi State the presence of your governor here shows that you are working in harmony with your people.” 

Oshiomhole, who reacted to the defection on a television programme last night, dismissed concerns that the APC’s two-thirds majority in the National Assembly poses a threat to democracy.

He emphasized that the influx of defectors will not in any way stifle robust and objective parliamentary debates.

The former Edo governor said: “Whether this is dangerous for democracy, I don’t think so. If you follow debates in the House, sometimes you can’t distinguish between PDP or the APC. It depends on the position people take. The diversity of Nigeria is better served at the national level because every interest is represented.”

With Ganduje to witness the defections were Kebbi Governor Mohammed Nasir Idris; former Kebbi governor Saidu Dakingari; Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Yusuf Sununu; Senator Uche Ekwunife; Farouk Lawan and the Secretary to the Kebbi State Government among others.