The political romance between the new Peoples Democratic Party bloc and the ruling All Progressive Congress may finally collapse this week even before the planned national convention of the APC, The Point’s investigations have revealed.
Although there has been no official comment in this regard, impeccable sources informed our correspondent last week that the group had concluded arrangements to pull out of the party after what was described as a futile effort to get its rightful place in the party.
There is no going back in our decision to leave the APC and return to the PDP in the same manner we left, because we have observed slow but impressive transformations going on in the PDP
It is believed that the exit of the group from the APC would create a huge gap that may spell failure for the party in 2019 since the same people played undeniable role in both the formation of the APC in 2014 and its eventual success in the presidential election of 2015.
The nPDP bloc in APC comprises former PDP state governors namely, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Fatah Ahmed of Kwara, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Governor of Kwara State, Senate President Bukola Saraki, the then Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, among others.
In 2014, they had collectively dumped the PDP and joined then newly formed APC mega party, along with the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, Congress for Progressive Changes, and a faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance.
A source close to the nPDP group said, “There is no going back in our decision to leave the APC and return to the PDP in the same manner we left, because we have observed slow but impressive transformations going on in the PDP.”
It was gathered that events that finally led to the final decision of the group to dump the APC was the humiliating media trial carried out by the police when it openly accused Saraki of having direct link with the Offa robbery incident in Kwara State.
Closely linked to this, said one of our sources, was the withdrawal of temporary operatives of the Department of State Security attached to both the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara-two prominent members of the group.
Unofficial sources also informed our correspondent that so many incidents had unfolded to indicate that the leadership of the APC “is interested in humiliating members of the nPDP than accommodating them in the APC.”
He cited the instance of the declaration of Kwankwaso persona non grata in Kano State where he had ensured victory for the party in 2015; the invasion of the Senate by touts loyal to a senator with heavy connection to Aso Rock; and the non-appearance of the Inspector General of Police before the Senate when he was summoned.
The sources disclosed that it was based on these incidents that members of the group met in Abuja and made up their minds to dump APC, believing that they were no longer needed in the ruling party.
In a bid to achieve justice from within, the leadership of the bloc wrote the national chairman of APC, listing complaints of marginalisation within the ruling party.
Members claimed that both the party and President Muhammadu Buhari had sidelined the nPDP members; and therefore, demanded an urgent meeting within seven days to work out modalities that would ensure a level-playing field for all in the just-concluded congresses and the coming convention of the APC, as well as the unity of the party at large.
The members, led by former National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, issued a seven- day ultimatum to the leadership of the party to arrange a meeting and have the issues resolved.
In a four-page letter, they alleged that despite their contributions to the success of APC, their members had been relegated to the background in both the party and the government; and that the only benefit allotted members of the nPDP in the Federal Executive Council went to a member whose state contributed virtually no vote to the success of the APC in the 2015 presidential election.
Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former governor of Osun State, who was the chairman of the board of the National Identity Management Commission, and the coordinator of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria Movement did not wait for the expiration of the seven days deadline before he resigned the board appointment as well as membership of the party.
Suddenly, the leadership of the nPDP cancelled a proposed reconciliatory meeting Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, also.
The Point gathered that members of the nPDP, particularly those in the House and the Senate, in order to avoid further discussions, decided to make themselves unavailable during the Eid –el-Filtr festival.
Although the recess by both chambers was listed in the National Assembly’s 2018 calendar, it has made it impossible for the APC leadership or the presidency to call for any reconciliatory meeting, as most of their leaders would have departed Abuja or the country for various reasons and will only appear few days to the national convention.
It was impossible to have any comment from Baraje. His media aide, Tunde Akanbi, said Baraje was in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.
