The gale of defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) continued in Kwara State on Wednesday.
The Speaker, Alhaji Razak Atunwa, and 20 members of the PDP defected to the APC.
The development means that the APC now has 22 members in the 24-man assembly since the APC had two members in the House before.
The speaker insisted that the recent resignation of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as PDP National Chairman and appointment of a new chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, were not enough to change their positions, adding that it is too late to go back to PDP since a lot of damage had been done beyond repair.
The former PDP lawmakers, who spoke on the floor of the Assembly, justified their decision to dump their former party on the basis of alleged division in the PDP and supported their position with reference to Section 109 (1 ) (g) of the 1999 Constitution.
The two members of the PDP now remaining in the Assembly are Alhaji Fatai Salman, representing Ilorin North State Constituency and Alhaji Iliasu Ibrahim, representing Malete/Ipaye/Oloru State Constituency.
In his own comments, Atunwa explained that PDP had suffered fragmentation which led to the emergence of two factions, adding that the division in the PDP was well documented in public records.
He also argued that all efforts aimed at resolving the differences between the factions were systematically frustrated, saying “this has left us with no other option than to join the APC.”
His words: “It is clear that from August 30, 2013 when a number of delegates from several states walked out of the Eagles Square Convention to hold a parallel PDP convention at the Yar’ Adua Centre, factions were established. All media reports since then are awash with reference to either the Baraje faction (commonly referred to as ‘new PDP’ or ‘nPDP’) or the Bamanga Tukur faction.
“I, and the rest of the members who have today formally changed party to the APC, belonged to the ‘new PDP’ faction. This is permitted by the proviso to Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The decision to leave the PDP was not made without thorough evaluation and extensive consultations. However, it was abundantly clear that PDP was fast becoming a sinking ship inhabited by self-serving egomaniacs.
“The final straw that broke the camel’s back was irregularity which occurred at the purported convention at Eagles Square where lists of delegates from certain states were doctored and some governors and their genuine delegates were prevented from participating. Consequently, a parallel convention was held at the Yar’ Adua Centre. In my view, the latter was the legitimate convention.
“Governance at the national level has been transformed into ‘elective dictatorship’. Parliament has been the focus of attack, both physically and figuratively. Laws and resolutions passed by the House of Representatives have been disregarded. State Houses of Assembly are being toyed with. The Rivers State House of Assembly was laid under siege and remains closed until now. Speaker and Principal Officers of Kano State House of Assembly were arrested simply for passing a Supplementary Budget into Law”.
Atunwa, who commended the members of the House for taking a stand against alleged slide of the country, added that their principled stand would be recorded in history as pivotal in saving the country from the precipice of failure.
