The leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress is reportedly making frantic efforts to retain the loyalty of House of Reps Speaker.
Mr. Yakubu Dogara
Some members of the House of Representatives on Sunday described as “laughable,” the current moves by the All Progressives Congress to stop the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, from defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party or any other party.
The lawmakers spoke under the aegis of Parliamentary Democrats Group, dominated largely by the PDP members and other opposition party members.
They spoke after their meeting in Abuja. They expressed surprise that the APC suddenly began to appreciate the worth of Dogara amid the gale of defections that hit it since last week at the National Assembly.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Timothy Golu, the group advised the APC not to waste its time as the Speaker would leave whenever it pleased him to do so.
The group also said Dogara would remain the Speaker upon defection as the APC alone did not have the two-thirds majority (240 out 360 members) to remove the Speaker.
“It is a futile one and a sheer waste of time. It is laughable that the APC is running cap in hand, begging the Speaker to remain in a party that has for so long failed to acknowledge his relevance and contribution to its existence
“Nemesis has now caught up with the party as the Speaker and other men of conscience have decided to pitch their tents with a party that recognises that the collective gain of Nigerians is greater than a few primordial interests.”
There were indications over the weekend that the APC had initiated a reconciliation meeting between Dogara and the Governor of Bauchi State, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, to settle their local political dispute in the state.
The Speaker is from Bauchi State. The APC’s alleged indifference to the disputes, which weighed heavily against Dogara, was the main reason the Speaker sought to dump the party.
However, the ruling party was said to have intensified reconciliation moves since the emergency of Adams Oshiomhole as the national chairman and the start of the latest defections.
But, the PDG urged Dogara to ignore the APC and defect to another party as soon as possible.