Smart Adeyemi’s defection: PDP’s loss, APC’s gain

“Kogi West has nothing to show towards improving the standard of living of our people by successive PDP governors. This neglect and poor performance of the PDP resulted into anti-party reactions, culminating in the victory of the ‎APC in Kogi State governorship election last year”.
When Senator Smart Adeyemi, who represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011, made this statement on April 8 at his Abuja residence, some indigenes of the North-Central state were shocked.
Shocked in the sense that since he joined politics in 2006 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was elected into the Senate a year later, no PDP member in the district defended the interests of the people more than Adeyemi.
A journalist and former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Adeyemi was the rallying point of his people in galvanising opinion toward their common interest.
So, when he announced his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), these indigenes were downcast in the sense that their defender has jumped ship.
It was later they realised that what led to the action was the way Adeyemi was treated by the PDP leaders in the state in the build up to the 2015 general election and how he was left alone at the tribunal.
For starters, Adeyemi, former Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), utilized his period in the Senate to uplift Kogi West to the best of his ability by providing over 500 hospital beds, 24 ambulances, distributed over 400 cars and built more than 200 boreholes as well as roads and market stalls, among others.
But when he realised the way he was treated by former Governor Idris Wada during the election, the best option was for him to leave the PDP.
Since 2006, he had tried to ‘stomach the insults’ coming from the PDP. In the history of the party in the zone, it is generally believed that for years, he had running battles with leaders of the party.
When he made his intention known to seek for a re-election in 2011, it was a fierce battle. The then Governor Ibrahim Idris mobilised other party leaders to stop his ambition of returning to the Upper Chamber.
In fact, he was forced to repeat his primaries thrice, having had the primaries voided at state High courts twice.
He eventually won.
During the 2015 election, it was another tug of war.
Of course, he won the primaries but the party elders worked against him during the March 28 National Assembly election.
They told party members to vote for the APC candidate, Senator Dino Melaye.
It was later gathered that Adeyemi’s ‘sin’ was his boldness in telling the party leaders at the National Headquarters in Abuja that fielding Wada as the governorship candidate in the 2015 election would cost the party the election because of his non performance.
Because of this, Adeyemi was a marked man.
Wada and the party chiefs worked against him during the National Assembly election which led to his controversial defeat.
Even when he went to the tribunal with a very strong case, they also worked against him.
So, to the journalist/politician, it was time to leave the party.
Adeyemi, a very strong pillar behind the eight-year reign of former Senate President, David Mark, was said to have been persuaded by the PDP leadership in Abuja to stay in the party but when he gave them evidence of how the party leaders in Kogi State worked against him, they became helpless.
So, when he defected on April 8, leaders of APC in Kogi State were very happy.
With him during the defection were Senator Abu Ibrahim, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, running mate to the late Alhaji Abubakar Audu, Hon James Faleke and other party leaders.
He said: “The situation in Kogi West, apart from the state capital, Lokoja, is very saddening to the extent that if those who died in the last 40 years have the opportunity to resurrect, they will easily locate their houses and farms because nothing has actually changed.”
“Therefore, in the light of the sincerity and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari‎, his strength of character and support of eminent personalities such as Baba Olusegun Obasanjo, the leader of men, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and the support of the leadership of the ruling party towards the reconstruction of the socio-economic fabric of our nation, we have decided to defect to the All Progressives Congress.”
On April 23, he visited his Iyara Ward, Ijumu Local Government area of Kogi State to formally register as a member of the APC and familiarise with the new party.
Adeyemi, who got a membership card number 14542741, said: “I need to be in the APC so that I can talk directly to the people in government without a sense of animosity.
“I need to be in the APC so that we can jointly, with Hon Abiodun Faleke and my brothers, work for the betterment of our people. When I talk to the people in government about the deprivation of our area as a member of the APC, they will not see me as an enemy”.
On the Buhari administration, he said: “This government must be trusted to deliver the goods. President Buhari himself has acknowledged that the economy is in bad shape. People need to endure for a while and let us join hands towards building a greater economy through diversification and empowerment for the younger generation.
“I believe that Kogi State cannot afford to be in a minority party at the state or national level, more so as the government at the centre has expressed its mission and vision as well as sincerity towards fostering a strong political will that will better the lots of Nigerians. Looking at the political dynamics around our geopolitical zone, the states are all controlled by the APC. It is just right that we support the party to achieve progress for our people.”
To Faleke, Adeyemi “is a valuable asset to the APC”.
“For the first time, we (the APC) were able to win in Kogi West. That is credit to Senator Adeyemi who asked his supporters to work with us. He is a great asset to us in the state. I am very happy he is joining us. He is my senior politically and I have a lot of respect for him. He doesn’t need to be in politics to survive but he has the love of his people at heart.
“The job of making the society better is not the task of one man. Anyone who wants to work for his people will not say people should not join him and that is why I am very pleased with his coming.”
APC Zonal Chairman in Kogi West, Chief Lawrence Asagun, who represented the State Chairman, Alhaji Adi Amatu, said that with Adeyemi’s defection, the party can easily secure victory in the zone.
“He used to be one person that gave us sleepless nights while he was in the PDP. He really gave us tough times in winning elections here. Now, with his coming, we will no longer have sleepless nights in winning elections in this zone since all of us are on one page,” Asagun said.