The political drama in Nigeria’s political space in the last few weeks has reached a new climax with the defection of the Kwara state governor, Alhaji Abdul-Fatah Ahmed and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Kwara state governor announced his defection through the senior special assistant on media and communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede. The statement announcing the defection of the governor to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) reads thus;
Following due consultations with the people and in response to calls by major stakeholder groups in the state, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed today defected to the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), having realised that the All Progressive Congress (APC) can longer serve as a platform for achieving the aspirations and expectations of his people
Dr. Bukola Saraki also announced his defection via Twitter although he did not announce the new platform he would be joining. According to the Senate President, “I wish to inform Nigerians that after extensive consultations, i have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This latest news brings to a climax what many have predicted within the political sphere in the last few weeks. The APC was hit with a wave of defections last week when 56 lawmakers defected from the APC to the PDP on the floor of the National Assembly. The governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom also followed suit; a move that has caused chaos in Benue state.
President Buhari and the APC chairman Adams Oshiomole said they would not lose sleep on the defections but went ahead to remove the Kwara state APC excos who were pro-Saraki and replaced them with party loyalists.
APC lawmakers in the National Assembly also insisted that if Saraki were to defect from the APC as was being speculated, then he would have to step down from his position as speaker.