Politics
Defected Ex-VP of Nigeria’s Ruling Party Urged to Return to Group
Associated Free Press
A spokesman for Nigeria’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has appealed to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a party stalwart, to return to the ruling party after his sudden defection to the main opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, Abdullahi Jalo,denied that the PDP is in crisis following high-profile defections that include influential governors and legislators who announced they had joined the APC ahead of next year’s presidential, legislative and local elections.
The PDP has won every national election, since 1999, when Nigeria returned to constitutional governance following years of military rule. Analysts say the defection of the former vice president could undermine the electoral dominance of the ruling PDP in next year’s vote.
According to Jalo, “We really want him to be with us and we are appealing to him to come back to our party so that at least we can move ahead. Because he has a lot of wealth of experience and then this is the time he could help the country,.” He also went on to say, “Whether he has an interest to contest or not, at least he cannot destroy the house he built, because almost all the elders and the founding fathers of the party are still with the PDP.”
Citing a lack of internal democracy, impunity and the refusal of the party to address concerns that led to the defection of the governors and legislators, Abubakar went on to announce his defection from the ruling PDP. “This is the first time that Atiku Abubakar is defecting from PDP to ACN [Action Congress of Nigeria] from ACN to PDP, and now from PDP to APC. We hope he will defect again from APC to PDP,” said Jalo.
Jalo went on to accuse Abubakar of trying to seize the presidency. He went on to say, “Unfortunately, we are not comfortable with how he reacts to issues. We really sympathize with his decision, but people will begin to interpret it like he is jumping from one party, because he likes to become a president, which is unfortunate.”
Abubakar, on the other hand, dismissed any desire to be the presidential candidate of the main opposition APC, vowing to help the party to win the 2015 general election. Interestingly enough, this has led some observers to say that the defection of the former vice president could pave the way for more defections, contending that Abubakar, who is a financier of the PDP, enjoys significant support from the party’s “foot soldiers.”
