The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the purported defection of five PDP governors to its fold.
Mr Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary of the party, in a statement in Abuja, said that the PDP was not perturbed by the development.
“As for the All Progressive Congress (APC), we congratulate them on their new entrants.
“We also like to recommend to them that a man who brings home ant-infested maggots should not complain if he is visited by lizards.
“The PDP is losing no sleep with this cross carpeting because disloyalty is a habit.
“ It’s only a matter of time before men who are disloyal to their mother would become disloyal to their step mother, ’’ Metuh said.
He said that the Baraje-led PDP splinter group, which the defected governors belonged, was not recognised by law and could not merge with the APC as was being reported.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports from some persons passing off the cross carpeting of a group of former PDP members to the APC as a merger.
“This information is false and is intended to mislead the public.’’ The party spokesman said that what happened between the group and the APC on November 26 was not a merger.
According to him, you can only talk of a merger where there are two distinct parties.
He added that in the case of the splinter group and APC, there was only one party -the APC and the splinter group, otherwise known as the new PDP, which was never a political party.
This, he said, was established on October 10 by a court ruling.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to the splinter group that the Alhaji Bamanga Turkur-led PDP was the only recognised party by that name. “From the above, it is quite clear that there hasn’t been a merger but an opportunistic cross carpeting of disloyal elements into the APC.’’ He added that the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan agreed to dialogue with the splinter group was out of magnanimity and his large heart as a leader, not because they were recognised by the law.
This, he noted, had been demonstrated severally by the President as an epitome of humility and a father to all PDP members and Nigerians generally.
Metuh, however, said that those who associated with the PDP splinter group were “motivated by blind ambition and vain glory’’.
Metuh said that PDP was not diminished because of the departure of the people
“We would like to draw attention to the fact that a tree that has been pruned of its under performing branches grows better and blossoms with new life.
“This is the case in biology as well as in politics.’’
Five governors of the PDP defected to the APC on November 26.
They took the decision after a meeting between the Baraje-led PDP splinter group and the APC leadership in Abuja.
The group announced its intention to join the APC in a communiqué jointly signed by Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, leaders of the splinter group and Chief Bisi Akande, APC Interim National Chairman.
