Aminu Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State, has dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and made a return to the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
The governor announced his defection on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at a press conference in the Government House, Sokoto, the capital of the northwestern state.
I have consulted widely especially with the Sokoto people and they have confidently assured me of my next political move. I hereby defect officially to the @OfficialPDPNig.
Power to the People
— Sokoto Government House (@SokotoGovtHouse) August 1, 2018
Governor Tambuwal made the announcement in front of a crowd at the Sokoto Government House.
According to inside sources, this move is to pave way for the former speaker of the House of Representatives to vie for president.
With this move, he becomes the 3rd sitting governor to decamp from the ruling party and rejoin the PDP. Last week, Benue State’s Governor Samuel Ortom announced his exit from the APC. On Tuesday, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State also made a similar move.
On Tuesday, July 24, 2018, fifteen senators announced their defection from the APC with 13 joining the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, while 2 joined the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
With this development, the ruling APC is now a minority in the Nigerian Senate with 44 senators. The People’s Democratic Party now has 66 senators. ADC has two senators, while APGA has one.
In a similar move, 37 members of the Nigerian House of Representatives have defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Thirty-two joined the PDP, while four joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC). One later announced he was also leaving the APC but did not state his new party.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has issued a statement saying it accepts the defections of federal lawmakers which occurred at the National Assembly on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.
In an e-mailed statement to The Trent in July, the then Bolaji Abdullahi, the national publicity secretary of the APC, said that the party respects the “right of every citizen to political association” and urged for calm.
“APC remains in firm control of 25 states of the 36 states of the federation and maintains a clear majority in the federal House of Representatives and state assemblies,” Mr. Abdullahi declared in the brief statement.
It would appear that the APC’s political strength is waning with the decamping of the three governors. The party is now “in control of 22 state”.
The Senate President Bukola Saraki along with his political godson, the spokesperson of the party, Mr. Abdullahi, has also dumped the APC.
