The three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators from Kebbi, who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), have expressed reasons for their actions.
The senators – Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central); Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South), announced their defections at the plenary on Tuesday.
The trio, in separate letters to the President of the Senate, said that they decided to leave PDP because it had become disconnected from the aspirations of the Nigerians it seeks to lead.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the letters were read by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary.
Aliero said in his letter that he made the decision to quit PDP after a deep reflection, extensive consultations and a careful assessment of the current political and socio-economic realities of the country and his constituency.
“I have made the decision to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party and rejoin the All Progressive Party (APC) of which I was a founding member.
“This decision was not made lightly. I’ve been a proud member of the PDP, a party under whose platform I was elected to serve.
“However, politics must never be about personal loyalty to a platform; it will always be about service, solutions and results.
“Today, I made this move in response to a simple question that every responsible leader must ask himself or herself: what is best for the people I serve?
“Over the past month, that has become increasingly, I mean firstly, clear to me, that PDP, as it currently stands, has become disconnected from the aspirations of the very Nigerians it seeks to lead.
“Internal divisions, lack of ideological clarity and inability to provide a credible forward-looking agenda have made it difficult for leaders like me to pursue the reform and development agenda that our people deserve,” he said.
Aliero further stated that APC, on the other hand, had shown signs of transformation, especially under its renewed hope agenda.
He said that his defection was not borne out of personal gains but because of the belief that APC offered a more viable platform through which he could effectively serve his constituents and advocate for progressive policies.
“Nigeria must move forward and today, I move forward with the people for the people and in the interest of our shared future,” the former governor said.
Similarly, Abdullahi said that he was rejoining APC in order to contribute his quota to the developmental strides of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration and that of Gov. Nasir Idris of Kebbi.
“Recall, on June 14, 2022, I withdrew my membership of the APC and resigned my position as the leader of the ninth Senate following political disagreements in my state.
“I am happy to note that those disagreements have been effectively resolved by the incumbent governor.
“I, therefore, have no reason whatsoever not to go back to APC, particularly, since I am one of the major architects of its formation and successes. For me, going back to the APC is a home-coming event.
“It is also politically imperative for me to join Mr President, Bola Tinubu.
Maidoki, on his own, attributed his defection to the lingering crisis in PDP and his belief that the ideals of APC better aligned with his political aspirations.
“This will enable me to participate fully in the renewed hope for the benefit of my senatorial district and Nigeria at large.
“When I was sworn in as a senator in June 2023, more than 100 villages in my senatorial district were occupied by bandits and in constant fear of kidnappings, rape and cattle rustling.
“To the glory of God, the deployment of troops in part of my constituency has played significant roles in proactive security of the area and my people have almost all returned back and farming peacefully,” he said.
In his remarks, the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, said that no one was being coerced into joining the ruling party.
“If anyone will be coerced, it is not Sen. Aliero, it wouldn’t be Sen. Yahaya Abdulahi that will be coerced; neither is it Sen. Maidoki who had also made a mark at the private sector before he joined politics.
“They are not in politics so that they can feed; but they recognise the fact that this is not the time for us to grandstand. This is the time for all of us to work together to take Nigeria to the next level.
“And I say it again, those who refer to this parliament as a rubber stamp should know that we are at a very critical stage of our national life when all hands must be on deck.
“It will not matter what party you belong to. What will matter to you is the overriding public interest,” Bamidele said.
