APC loses Kwara as Gov Ahmed says he’s leaving ruling party

…Confirms Daily Times story on defection of 3 Govs to PDP
…We stand by Buhari, says APC Parliamentary Support Group
…Defected legislators will campaign for Buhari – Ita Enang
Following calls from various stakeholders in Kwara State, the State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has hinted that he might be quitting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor insisted that the party has not met the expectations of the people of Kwara State.

Governor Ahmed disclosed this on Thursday at State Banquet Hall, Ilorin, while reacting to the requests of various stakeholders in Kwara Central Senatorial District, prevailing on him and the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to immediately dump the APC.

The Daily Times had exclusively reported on Thursday that Governor Ahmed and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal, had concluded plans to defect from the ruling APC to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

With this development, the APC is about to lose another state (Kwara), as Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Thursday, defected from the APC and returned to his former party, the PDP.

The governor recalled how key stakeholders in the ruling APC in the state built the party in 2014 alongside other notable Nigerians with high expectations but were disappointed about the failure of the government at national level to address insecurity, economy and unemployment challenges confronting the nation.

The governor said: “We formed APC together in 2014 with the hope to meet the needs and aspirations of the people in critical areas of our national life”.

He said the leadership of the APC had failed to intervene on critical issues affecting the party and its members, pointing out that injustice within the party is unbearable.

Governor Ahmed, who thanked the people of the state for their support, assured the stakeholders that he would consider their pleas and make public the new platform that would meet the aspirations of the people of the state.

He also promised that the administration would continue to run an all inclusive process that would take care of all interests.

Various stakeholders who spoke at the Town Hall meeting in Ilorin, called on the Governor Ahmed take the state to another political party where their welfare would be guaranteed and expectations would be met.

In his remarks, the State President of Kwara State Artisans Group, Alhaji Saad Alawaye, who commended Governor Ahmed for his numerous empowerment programmes to the informal sector, promised continuous support in moving the state forward.

The State Chairman, Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Mr. Joshua Adekanye, who spoke on behalf of all the 16 local government chairmen, their vice chairmen and 193 councillors, expressed readiness to dump the APC in the interest of the people.

On their parts, the Youth leader, Alhaji Mohammad Ali Baba and the Women Leader, Hajia Rahmat Oganija, thanked the governor for his support to the youth and womenfolk in the state.

They, however, said they were not comfortable to remain in the APC, citing injustices against the Senate President, Dr, Bukola Saraki, and called for immediate defection to a better and safer political party.

The meeting had in attendance Artisans group, market men and women, Okada riders, and youth groups among others.

But the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that Kwara State chapter of the APC is not perturbed by series of defection going on across political parties in the country, urging members to remain calm.

In a press statement made available on Thursday, the minister commended the APC supporters in the state for their unflinching commitment, assuring that the party will emerge stronger than ever in the state.

He said: “Against the backdrop of the recent events at the National Assembly, I want to most sincerely thank all APC members and supporters in Kwara State for their unflinching commitment to ensuring that the party emerges stronger than ever in the state.

“That commitment has been reflected in the overwhelming support and solidarity that we have received, not just from our party members but also from other parties and stakeholders across the state, since the melodrama at the National Assembly on Tuesday. In particular, there has been an expression of overwhelming love and support for President Muhammadu Buhari from across Kwara, in the wake of the defections by federal legislators from Kwara”.

The Minister called on all party members and loyalists to remain calm, saying that, “I call on all our members and supporters in Kwara to remain calm, because there is no cause for alarm. We are currently consulting with the national leadership of our great party with a view to coming up with a programme of action that will take into consideration the recent developments.

“Our members and supporters should have no doubt whatsoever that whatever decisions we take after the consultations will be in their overall best interest”, he added.

However, the Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, was optimistic that the APC senators and members of the House of Representatives that left the party on Tuesday had no rancour with the president personally as they will campaign for Buhari’s re-election next year.

Enang said the defectors or aggrieved members of the APC have expressed grievances within the party but not against the president.

Addressing journalists at the National Assembly complex on Thursday, Enang said: “But in all the grievances expressed, none is attributed or directed at President Muhammadu Buhari, nor his actions or any action or omission of the President or the Federal Government.

“In fact, in my interaction pre and post expression of intent to defect, all the dramatis personae – the distinguished Senators and Honourable members expressed their solidarity and support for Mr. President and expressed categorically that their grievances and consequent actions are not directed against President Buhari nor his re-election bid, but domestic actors in their constituency political fields such as the Governors, State party leaders or frustration over zoning or indeed calculations for a return ticket or platform for 2019 elections.

He said a great number of the defectors have indicated that even if they pursue their bid on a different political platform, they will still campaign for Buhari in 2019 on the APC platform.

Enang insisted that there has never been defection but mere expression of intent while claiming that APC is today one united strong party.

He said, “What has been done by the Distinguished Senators and Honourable members are group notice to switch camp, it is inchoate and leaves windows, doors and rooms for further consultation for resolution because our party minds and cares for all members in or out of office. And like the Holy Bible enjoins, if you lose one sheep out of 100, preserve 99 and go and search for the one lost”.

On the relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government, he said the executive will keep treating the legislators with respect due their persons and offices and keep working with them as legislators for the Federal Republic of Nigeria who make laws for the executive to execute irrespective of their individual political decisions, while leaving all options open for conciliation.

“The Executive will be consulting with the Legislature over matters pending consideration such as 2018 Virement proposals, approval of borrowings to fund the 2018 Appropriation, approval of the pending 2018 budget of 64 Government owned Corporations laid by Mr. President along with the 2018 budget, including request for approval of appointments which pendency has affected the fulfillment of the purposes meant.

“We pray the legislature will find the normal ingenious patriotic means and time to attend to these within the period of the vacation in the interest of the nation which the legislature is passionately committed to”.

In a related development, the Parliamentary Support Group, a pro-Buhari House of Representatives members of the APC on Thursday, said it was solidly behind the President’s re-election bid in 2019 in spite of the gale of defection from the party by National Assembly members.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the group said they were more than ever committed to the ideals of the president to good governance and would continue to support him both in next year’s general election and overall administration of the country.

According to the group, they were unperturbed by the defection of some House members who left the party recently as they would soon retrace their steps and return.

“We will continue to stand, support him and his policies,” they said, adding that the APC is cruising on a higher altitude and as such those who left will find their way back.

Chairman of the group, Hon Sarki Adar and the group’s spokesman, Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin, noted that they had resolved to mobilise all relevant structures to return Buhari ito power in 2019.

He said the House of Representatives was in order and on a solid rock, with their leadership also committed to supporting the President and his ideals.

“We have resolved to build our party and support Buhari in 2019. We will stay committed to ideals of Buhari and APC, and move Nigeria forward,” Adar emphasised, pointing that the president deserves the support of all Nigerians.

He noted that decisions have been reached following discussions with the president that will henceforth provide legislative, executive interface to promote good relationship between the two arms of government.

“The president has agreed to carry us along. We will be meeting on quarterly, monthly basis as the case maybe to rob minds and enhance executive, legislature relationship to engage more on issues to get governance to the people. We need to support him, engage him on realities on ground so as to right the wrongs,” the group’s chairman further said.

Adar argued that the party was democratic and that a level playing field will be provided for everyone during the party’s primaries.

“In APC, we are democratic. We want a level playing ground for everybody and we have gotten that assurances from the president and our national chairman,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, on Thursday, declared that he remains a member of the ruling APC.

The Senator said this while fielding questions from journalists at the APC National Secretariat after a meeting with the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

He backed the ongoing reconciliation efforts undertaken by the party’s National Executive led by Oshiomhole.

Sani said, “We are confident that the new leadership of the party has the capacity and ability to address injustices. In the words of Frantz Fanon, ‘We revolt because we cannot breathe’. So we revolted against the party because it is suffocating us. Now we have a new surgeon who is doing everything possible to put it back on track. That is why we give him the benefit of doubt that the problem can be solved”.

Asked about his party membership status, Sani said: “If I am here, I am an APC member. If I am not an APC member, you will not see me at the party’s National Secretariat”.