Akwa Ibom gov's defection notice excites APC, jolts PDP
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It was all excitement yesterday in the All Progressives Congress (APC) following confirmation by Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno that he was firmly on his way to switching camps to the ruling party.
Officials of the APC said they were ready to roll out the red carpet for the governor and his supporters.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which seems to have resigned to fate about losing Eno, dispatched a delegation of its Strategy and Way Forward Committee, led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki to Enugu yesterday to stave off mass defection by Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and the entire South East hierarchy of the party to the APC.
The South East Zone of the PDP had threatened to dump the party should it continue to refuse to recognize the zone’s nominee for the position of national secretary, Sunday Ude-Okoye as replacement for the incumbent, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
The federal government, reacting to suggestions that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was being used to blackmail governors to dump the PDP for the APC, denied the allegations.
It said defection to the ruling party by serving state governors and other office holders would not stop the FG from acting on corruption cases against such suspects.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) vowed that the Tinubu administration would continue to uphold the rule of law and would not falter in the fight against corruption, no matter whose ox is gored.
The EFCC specifically debunked a statement by Mr. Paul Ibe, a media aide of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede held a secret meeting with an unnamed politician prior to his recent defection to the APC.
Governor Eno, speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in Uyo, the state capital on Thursday evening, said his love for President Bola Tinubu and the leadership crisis rocking the PDP were the reasons for his planned defection.
“For me, it is no longer news that I am leaving the party (PDP). If you don’t know that by now I don’t know what else you know. I am a PDP person, I love the PDP and I want to stay in the PDP but clearly I don’t have a roadmap to be able to guarantee that I will be able to have a smooth sail during the election not because I won’t win the election,” Eno told the stakeholders made up of members of his cabinet, delivery officers and top officials of the PDP.
Continuing, he said: ” In this state today, with what we have done even if we contest on a zero party we will win the election. There is no doubt about it. We have worked very hard but you know that at the national level our party is not coming together.
“Every day you hear secretary this and that and so you take your form and send it to INEC, run all the election, perhaps win the election and just on technical ground, because the wrong person signed your form, you lose everything.
“I am not going to be stupid staying to do that. I love my party. In any case, in this state we are running as if there is no party. The only agenda we run in this state is the ARISE Agenda.
“No party in this country has clear ideological differences and I challenge anybody to take that to debate to show me the ideological differences of each party we have in this country. People just move. This is not in America that we have the Democrats and people say we know their ideology.
“Again, I support this President. I know clearly well that this President did not create the problem we are in. And I don’t know how to mince words. I cannot be in the PDP today and support the President of another party. It would clearly be in violation of party guidelines.
“I don’t know how to flip flop so if I’m supporting the President let me go to where I can say so and stay with things he has done. I don’t want to practice anti party activities. I don’t have the kind of strength that Barrister Nyesom Wike has.”
He asked his commissioners and other political appointees to defect with him to APC or resign their positions.
But he said political appointees who wanted to remain in the PDP were free to do so except that they would no longer be members of his cabinet.
His words: “I am told that some of you are saying that you will not come, you are free, absolutely free not to join me, but you won’t be in my state executive council.
“So, you better just be prepared to resign the day I announce that I’m moving because you are an appointee and your loyalty is fully to me.
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“You can’t be in my cabinet and play anti-party (affairs), It is not possible, it’s not a threat, it is what it is. I won’t beg you to come, you should normally not even expect it.”
An APC official told The Nation last night that it was another good news from the South South coming so soon after the April 23rd defection of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori,his deputy, cabinet, the entire PDP structure in the state and the immediate past governor,Dr.Ifeanyi Okowa who was also the presidential running mate in the 2023 election.
The source who is familiar with the defection plans but craved anonymity recalled President Tinubu’s speech at the APC Summit in Abuja on Thursday in which he described the PDP as a sinking ship.
“You don’t blame people bailing out of a sinking ship when there’s no life jacket,” Tinubu had said on the dumping of the PDP by many of its prominent members. He said he expected more defections.
PDP moves to contain Southeast revolt as Saraki, others meet Mbah
In an attempt to stem the gale of defections from PDP’s rank and file, a delegation of the party’ s Strategy and Way Forward Committee, led by a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki yesterday visited Enugu State to plead with Governor Mbah and the Southeast zone to reconsider their decision to dump the party.
The zonal leadership of the PDP had issued the threat last week to back up their nomination of Sunday Ude-Okoye as National Secretary in place of embattled Samuel Anyanwu.
With Saraki on yesterday’s trip were the immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson and former governor of Gombe State, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo.
The meeting took place behind closed doors.
The former Senate President said on his X handle @bukolasaraki moments after the meeting that “We didn’t sidestep the issues.”
He added: “We confronted the fractures in our foundation, asked the hard questions, and began shaping a real, workable plan to move our party forward.
“ I believe in the PDP. I believe in what it has stood for and what it can still become, if we’re willing to do the hard, unglamorous work of rebuilding from the inside out.
“The road ahead won’t be easy. It will test us and demand more from each of us. But I leave Enugu more convinced than ever: we have the people, the resolve, and the clarity to rise to the occasion—and to lead again.”
He had told reporters as he stepped out of the meeting that the committee was working “toward ensuring that our upcoming National Executive Council meeting and also likely convention is rancor free and smooth.
“In line with that, we are here in Enugu State to consult with all the leaders of our party, and Gov. Peter Mbah is the leader of the PDP Southeast.
“This is the first state we are coming to, because we appreciate the importance of the Southeast in PDP family,” he said.
The former Kwara governor said that Southeast had played a key role in the formation of PDP.
“In recognition of that, we are here to consult with Mbah and first commend him on the leadership role he has been playing in the party.
“We commend what he is doing in Enugu State, which is a reflection of what happens when you have a PDP government,” he said.
Saraki said that they discussed how to ensure that assignment given to them was done properly; to enable PDP hold its NEC and convention without rancour.
“This is to ensure the NEC meeting and national convention are rancor free, smooth, peaceful and lay the foundation for the PDP that we all are wishing for.
“So we have had a very good and useful discussion, and we are going away with some of the suggestions that we have and hopefully work on that.
“From what we have seen today, there’s nothing that is insurmountable in the challenge ahead, given the spirit and the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders,” he said.
Defection to APC won’t stop trial of corrupt governors – AGF
Prince Fagbemi in a statement through his media aide, Mr. Kamarudeen Ogundele, said there was no truth in the allegation by Atiku’s aide that the EFCC and the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, met a former and incumbent governor of a South-South state, 48 hours to their defection to the APC.
The AGF branded the allegation as contemptuous, and said that although Ibe did not mention the names of the defectors, “discerning members of the public know those he could have been referring to.”
He said: “However, we wish to state categorically that the allegation is from the pit of hell, and at best, a figment of imagination of Mr Ibe.
“We know as a fact that the EFCC chairman and the Solicitor General of the Federation never met any serving or former governor as alleged by him.
“We appeal to the members of the public to disregard the insinuation as it was a feeble attempt to discredit President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration’s fight against corruption.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will continue to uphold the rule of law and will not falter in the fight against corruption no matter whose ox is gored.”
Atiku’s media aide lied ,says EFCC
The EFCC, in its own denial, described Ibe’s allegations as unfounded claims.
The anti-graft agency stated that Ibe bared his mind on sundry theories, conjectures and assumptions relating to opposition politics and defections.
It said: “His allegations of the Executive Chairman EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede and Solicitor General of the Federation’s alleged meeting with an unnamed governor forty -eight hours before his defection to the ruling All People’s Congress, APC, are patently fabricated and in bad taste.
“Olukoyede has stressed it at several fora that he is apolitical and the EFCC totally wired against partisan tendencies.”
The anti-graft agency urged the public to disregard the alleged meeting with the unnamed governor as it only exists in the imagination of Ibe.
