Nigeria’s House Speaker dumps ruling party
Monday September 17 2018
Nigeria’s Senate President Bukola Saraki has declared his intention to seek the country's presidency. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The Speaker of Nigeria's House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The defection comes barely a month after Senate President Bukola Saraki left APC for PDP.
Mr Saraki, 51, now a presidential aspirant on the PDP platform, will have to defeat 13 other rivals in the primaries on October 6, for the party ticket.
Should he clinch the October contest, Mr Saraki will be pitted against President Muhammadu Buhari, the sole APC aspirant for the 2019 presidential election.
Both Mr Saraki and Mr Dogara dumped PDP for APC in 2014 ahead of the 2015 General Election.
Rescue the nation
PDP publicity secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, said in Abuja that Mr Dogara’s return was a courageous response to the party’s call on compatriots to rally with it and rescue the nation.
Mr Ologbondiyan described the decision as a patriotic and nationalistic move that demonstrates that “he is a statesman, who is committed to the progress of the nation, particularly at this trying time”.
He added that the move was reflective of the wishes and aspiration of his larger constituency and in tandem with the determination of Nigerians to rally on the platform of the repositioned PDP to vote out the APC administration.
However, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yussuff Lasun, denied reports that he had similarly dumped APC.
Political detractors
A pro-PDP Parliamentary Democrats Group, had described Mr Lasun’s defection to PDP as a forgone issue.
Mr Lasun described the reports as the handiwork of his political detractors.
His press secretary, Mr Wole Oladimeji said: ”The defection story of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Sulaimon Lasun Yussuff to PDP is highly misleading and highly uncalled for.’’
"Deputy Speaker has said it repeatedly that he is a progressive to the core and remains in APC. It is the machinations of his political detractors, who are hell bent in maligning his political image that are spreading the rumour."