…accuse party of tyranny, leadership failure
By Ignatius Okorocha
There was an uproar in the Senate on Wednesday as three Senators belonging to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP),resigned their membership of the party and defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers in three separate letters to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, attributed their resignation from the opposition party to internal crisis, tyranny and leadership failure within the PDP.
Lawan read their letters of defection during the commencement of plenary on Wednesday.
The lawmakers who defected are: Senators Sahabi Ya’u (Zamfara North); Lawali Hassan Anka (Zamfara West); and Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North).
The defection letter by the Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Sahabi Ya’u (Zamfara West) reads: “I hereby inform Your Excellency and my Distinguished Colleagues of my decision to move from the Peoples’ Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress Party.
“The decision is necessitated by the endemic crisis that engulfed the Zamfara State Chapter of the PDP, which led the national body to dissolve the State Exco of the party.
“This has negatively impacted effective representation of my constituents. Being a representative of my people, and having consulted widely with them, I decided to defect from the crises ridden party to a more formidable and peaceful party, the APC.”
Deputy Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, Lawali Hassan Anka (Zamfara West), on his part, said his defection was informed by the crises in the Zamfara state chapter of the PDP.
Chairman of the Committee on Niger Delta, Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North) said his decision to resign from the PDP was due to the implosion within the party.
The lawmaker accused the leadership of the party of fostering tyranny, arbitrariness and intolerance.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who stopped midway while reading the defection letters as a result of interjections from PDP Senators, jokingly remarked that more defections were underway.
“Distinguished Senator Utazi, I know this is not easy, but you know we have to learn to live with it, because many more will be coming here”, Lawan said.
Nwaoboshi’s defection letter reads: “I write to respectfully notify Your Excellency and, indeed, the Senate that I’ve formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“This decision and action is due to division at all levels of the Peoples’ Democratic Party that sponsored my election into the Senate.
“The PDP in its entirety is imploding under huge yokes of factionalisation, arbitrariness, intolerance, tyranny and gross failure of leadership in ways that has made it impossible for my membership to continue in the party.
“This communication is made pursuant to Section 68 subsection (1g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, for your information, guidance and record purposes.
“While assuring Mr. President of my highest esteem, be further assured of my commitment to the Ninth Senate Legislative Agenda under your calm, steady leadership and absolute support for the APC-led Federal Government of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.”
Recall that Senator representing Zamfara Central in the National Assembly, Hassan Mohammad Gusau, on Tuesday tendered his resignation as a member of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
His resignation was conveyed in a latter addressed to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and read during the start of plenary on Tuesday.
In his letter of defection Hassan Mohammad Gusau explained, “My decision is necessitated due to the collapse of internal democracy and factionalisation of the party from ward levels in Zamfara State.
“Further decisions on political movement and party affiliations will be communicated to this chamber in due course.”
Meanwhile, with the defection of four members of the People’s Democratic Party to All Progressive Party in the upper chamber, the ruling party’s strength rises to 70 while their counterpart in the main opposition party stands at 38 and sole representative of YPP making the total 109 members that make the 9th Senate.
