Defection of G7 govs: Hope has been rekindled – Peterside

YESTERDAY’S decamping of most G-7 governors and members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP)  to the All Peoples Congress (APC) elicited mixed reactions in the polity.

Lagos-based lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, said the movement of the G-7 governors to APC is not a loss to the PDP, adding that the movement of the rebel governors who are nursing a personal agenda, into APC may amount to inviting trouble into the APC.

Sagay also berated the northern governors, saying while the APC was preoccupied with salvaging Nigeria from years of misrule, the motive of the northern governors is principally for power to return to the north.

“Concerning the Northern governors decamping to the APC, I really don’t think it is a loss to the PDP. If you look at these rebel governors, with the exclusion of Rotimi Amaechi, you will find out that their agenda is a very narrow agenda, a very personal one. And that agenda is for the North to produce the president so that a Northerner can control the Niger Delta oil and Lagos State VAT and so on.

In his own reaction, Bamidele Aturu said the primary motive of the gladiators in the present arrangement is to feather their nests and not to advance the cause of Nigerians.

The human rights activist said the movement of the rebel governors to the APC had proved to Nigerians that there is no clear-cut difference between the political parties in Nigeria.

They’ve taken a gamble – Babatope

Former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, wished the defectors luck, saying: “Now that they have announced it, I wish those from the PDP going to join the APC the very best of luck. They have taken a gamble and I hope they are ready to face the consequences of that gamble. No rebellion of any group within an established political party has ever succeeded either in Nigeria or even abroad.

“But in their case, well, they have taken a gamble and like I said they must face the consequence of that gamble. We have no fear about the APC because the APC is not yet a party. But we will remain with the Nigerian people, PDP will never desert the Nigerian people. So, we shall meet on the political battle field, that is why I said we wish them the best of luck.”

Merger took Oni by surprise

For former governor of EkitiState, Segun Oni, who was with the nPDP, Vanguard gathered that the news of the merger came to him as a surprise.

A source close to him told Vanguard that “as it stands now, he got the news like every other person. He is studying the situation as events unfold and he will have to consult with his supporters at home before taking any decision.

It’s better we know our enemies —Doherty

Coordinator of the PDP in the South-West, Mr Deji Doherty, said the defectors took an honourable decision.

In a telephone chat with Vanguard, he said:  “It is better we know our enemies than our enemies being in the same party with us. It is an honourable decision and I believe we still have more people in the PDP that are APC at night and PDP during the day. It will be honourable for them to come out and choose a party that they can be loyal to. So, if Olagunsoye Oyinlola believes that he can be more loyal to the APC, it is his fundamental human right to choose whichever political party he wants to be.”

Their exit should be celebrated — Maeba

In his submission, former Senator representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly, Hon Lee Maeba said PDP members worldwide should celebrate the exit of the blacklegs.

According to him, “INEC should declare their seats vacant since the constitution says you can only decamp to another party if the party that brought you to power is factional.”

’The court had declared PDP not factional, so fresh elections should be conducted in the affected states.”

Hope has been rekindled — Peterside

A member of the House of Representatives and Chairman House Committee on Oil and Gas, (Downstream), Hon Dakuku Peterside, in his submission said the development is a watershed in the country’s democratic journey and hope has been rekindled.

“The beneficiaries of this merger are the Nigerian people, democracy and democratic culture. The political and democratic institutions can never be the same again and our democratic institution will be strengthened by implication. Never again will we the people be taken for granted,”.he said.

PDP should go to Court — Opara

Commenting on the move, former deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Austin Opara, advised the PDP to go to court over the merger.

“On the defection of the PDP governors to the APC, this is democracy and membership of a party is a voluntary affair, you don’t force anybody to remain in any party but the implication for our democracy is what I am concerned about. The National Assembly members that defected to the APC, their seat should be declared vacant according to the position of the Constitution. For the PDP governors that also defected to the APC, I think the PDP should also go to Court to challenge it because of future occurrence. We should all remember the Amaechi saga in RiversState when the Supreme Court declared that it is the party that contests elections not individuals. So if the party that contests election and you abandon the same party by which you contested election, you have no basis to be governor. So I urge the PDP to challenge the defections to further entrench our democracy.”

It’s good for our democracy—Ogunlewe

A former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, said the merger will afford Nigerians opportunity to choose from the best.

Ogunlewe said: “It is in two parts: the first one is that it is good for our democracy because there will be a very strong opposition now to the PDP. It will afford people to choose. What is good now for the two political parties is to bring out their manifesto, let the people assess them and then, let us see the one people will choose. Secondly, it is for those decamping governors to hold on to their supporters because their supporters will have to compete with the people they have known to be in the opposition. They may get there and their host may be hostile to them after they decamp because you can never out smart the people you are meeting there. They may not accept them because they also want to survive. Some of the governors cannot contest again because they are outgoing governors and so, in another six months, they will be irrelevant. The third aspect is for the PDP itself to re-arrange and order their priorities, know what the people want and do a lot for the people so that when elections come, they will be the favourite. It is also a freedom of choice, if it is going to bring out the best of Nigeria, then let it be.”

Vanguard.