The opposition coalition led by by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the immediate past Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday hit back at the Presidency, saying the defection of Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa and several prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party did not come as a surprise.
A key stakeholder of the coalition and former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress, Mallam Salihu Lukman disclosed this in a statement made available to The PUNCH in Abuja.
Lukman was reacting to Monday’s trolling by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who mocked Atiku, saying his coalition will crumble following the defection of his key allies to the APC.
But Lukman, a chieftain in the coalition kicked, saying the presidential spokesmen were just humouring themselves.
The politician stated that aside from Okowa and Oborevwori, they are equally aware a few other governors are likely to jump ship.
He said, “First, I think anybody who says this is unexpected will only be deceiving himself. The signals have been there, that some governors are going to decamp. It’s not just one but some governors. The PDP is clearly a shadow of its own self. Although we acknowledge there are people and leaders in the PDP who are optimistic they can rescue the party.
“But if you remember when the governors issued a statement against the coalition, what was our response? Our response was that many of them are working for Asiwaju. Shortly after that, you saw the statement from Akwa Ibom, a,nd of cour,se the Delta governor. It’s not only him. If you check the comments, there are many more being expected.
“On the one hand, people who genuinely worry for the country are expressing fear about a one-party state. On the other hand, the government and APC are jubilating. Look, the beauty of democracy is about competition.
The whole initiative to begin to negotiate the coalition is to ensure that in 2027, Nigerians are presented with options.”
While saying the defection has been long foresaw, Lukman vowed that the opposition figures in the coalition will not be distracted.
The North-West politician also urged the PDD governors and leaders to reconsider their stance on not joining the coalition to form a merger ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“We have gone far and what has happened in terms of some governors and leaders moving into the APC is not going to distract us at all. Not long from now, the full detail of the coalition will be unveiled to Nigerians including the structure and the strategy in terms of how the election will be contested will be clarified.
We want to correct all the mistakes and shortcomings from the Buhari administration to the Asiwaju administration. We want to restore the aspiration of Nigerians by producing leaders and greater country we will be proud of. That is what the coalition is all about. If anybody sees it differently, we are going to correct all of that.
“If we are talking of correcting the mistake of Buhari, correcting the mistake of Asiwaju, we don’t want to produce a government that will be seen as a sectional government. We want to produce a government that Nigerians will be proud of. We don’t want to produce another set of emperors,” he assured
Ganduje welcomes Kawu Sumaila, other NNPP defectors
A few hours after Lukman’s statement, the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje officially welcomed key political figures who recently defected from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the APC.
The high-profile decampees include Senator Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila, who represents Kano South Senatorial District, and Rt. Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, the member representing Rano/Kibiya/Bunkure Federal Constituency.
Others received into the APC fold are former Secretary to the Kano State Government, Dr. Baffa Bichi; former federal lawmaker representing Danbatta/Makoda, Hon. Badamasi Ayuba; Hon. Abdullahi Sani Rogo; Rt. Hon. Zubairu Hamza Masu; Hon. Muhammad Diggol; Hon. Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada; and Hon. Abbas Sani Abbas.
Captured in a series of photographs, the event showed Dr. Ganduje warmly receiving the former NNPP stalwarts, symbolizing their official integration into the APC. The images reflect a celebratory and unified atmosphere as the defectors were seen exchanging handshakes and holding the party’s flags.
Political observers note that the defections were prompted by longstanding grievances within the NNPP, particularly complaints of marginalization and internal party injustice allegedly orchestrated by NNPP leader, Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.
These and other undisclosed reasons led to the mass exodus of these key figures into what they described as the “blessed fold” of the APC.
PDP kicks as Osun NNPP chairman predicts more defections
Meanwhile, Osun State chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr Tosin Odeyemi, has predicted that more people would dump Peoples Democratic Party before the governorship poll.
His prediction comes in the wake of the defection of the lawmaker representing Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Wole Oke,
Odeyemi in a statement obtained in Osogbo on Thursday, specifically said those that would dump PDP are those that love progress of Osun, noting that people would no longer sit back and watch helplessly observing governance degenerating to “mere entertainment.”
Reacting, the PDP dismissed Odeyemi’s claim as a mere wishful thinking, adding that those seeking Adeleke’s exit are people that want political patronage at the expense of well-being of the general populace.
“In contrast to his wishful thinking however, the only people who have left the party so far are are those with parochial interests, those expecting His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke to let loose and open the state vault for their personal greed,” PDP statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Oladele Bamiji read partly.
Odeyemi, who held firmly that people with conscience would be worried about Osun under Adeleke’s leadership, absolved Oke of any blame for dumping PDP.
He further said, “Nobody with right conscience will believe things are going well in terms of governance since the Governor Adeleke led administration took over the affairs of Osun. More people will dump PDP in the state.”
He continued, “Governor Ademola Adeleke surrounded himself with bootlickers that find it difficult to look up to him and advice him rightly. Some of them do not even care about the development of Osun. All they do is to praise-sing Adeleke in his presence and tell people another different things behind him.
“When a person in power lacks good advisers, he will assume to have been doing all things rightly. You don’t around yourself with mediocre and expect positive result. These bootlickers see everybody as an enemy of the government and respond immaturely to criticism about governance, whereas their low-life wouldn’t allow them to realise on time that failure of the leader spells doom for them.
“I won’t blame Honourable Wole Oke for leaving PDP, one thing that is very sure is that before the year runs out, more people with conscience will leave that party because many of them are presently suffering and smiling, they are just buying time. I wish the party knows what is about to befall them. Those that will leave the party openly are few compared to those that will stay to destabilize the party in the state.”
The PDP would not however take any of Odeyemi’s claims, saying contrary to Odeyemi’s “Wishful thinking however, the only people who have left the party so far are those with parochial interests, those expecting His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke to let loose and open the state vault for their personal greed.
“Anyone who cited Hon Wole Oke to line his thoughts of negative wish for osun PDP, is actually one of those without conscience. You cannot mitigate or conscienciously justify someone exciting a platform that has practically served your life, since early 30s and now almost 60 years of age and tell me you have any modicum of conscience. So, if Wole Oke happens to be Tosin’s mentor as a chronic political trader, then the guess of reasonable members of the public is as good as mine.
“His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke will continue to stand firm in service to the good people of the state and that he will continue to be true to his nature as an unrepentant happy soul, away from deceitful expectations of inconsequential elements like Tosin Odeyemi and his one man platform.”
PDP will lose my Federal Constituency in next polls -Wole Oke
In a related development, Oke also predicted huge electoral defeat for the PDP at the next election in the state.
Oke, who recently dumped PDP stated this while speaking on a radio station in Osogbo, Osun State capital on Thursday, said the current state political office holders from the two local government areas that made up the Federal Constituency dont have the capacity to win elections for PDP.
“Atiku’s political future looks bleak. The coalition that he, El Rufai, Babachir, and new member Baba-Ahmed are cobbling together has disintegrated.
“Potential allies, including former running mate Ifeanyi Okowa and defunct CPC members, are giving his leprous group a wide berth. Atiku is a loser again,” he stated.
Onanuga’s scathing remark was a follow-up to a similar post by a fellow presidential aide, Tunde Rahman, who also derided the PDP, describing the development as “the biggest shocker ever” for Atiku.
Rahman argued that with the PDP governors now aligning with President Bola Tinubu, the coalition was “dead on arrival.”
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