The rising spate of defection of top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been revealed to be a strategic scheme by the opposition party to take over the ruling party, New Telegraph reports
According to sources, the opposition party has started its secret effort to wrest back power in 2019 by encouraging mass defection of some of its member to the ruling APC.
Just on Saturday, former deputy governor, ex-ministers and party leaders abandoned the PDP for APC in Benue State. It was the same trend in Cross River and Rivers states at the weekend.
It was learnt that the long term plan is to build enough force within the party and take over the structure thereby causing a divide that would affect the unity of the party.
It was also claimed that another reason for the defection was to escape the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) radar as it is believed that the anti-corruption agency is focusing its beam on members of the PDP.
According to the report, the presence of top persons like the former cice-president, Atiku Abubakar, Senate president, Bukola Saraki, governors Nasir el-Rufai, Aminu Tambuwal, Rochas Okorocha and Rauf Aregbesola was to build their political front as they have been encouraging more defections into the party thereby creating a large loyalist base.
It was reported that the PDP first tried out the ploy in the Bayelsa gubernatorial election where the former president, Goodluck Jonathan and the governor, Seriake Dickson masterminded the defection of PDP members to the APC thereby having access to the plot of the opposition party.
“The Bayelsa governor infiltrated the APC leadership in the state and the party’s campaign organisation such that he had every information and plot against his re-election. All the plans of the APC to win the election were leaked to the PDP. This is why Dickson was able to win the hard-fought election.” a source said.
The success reportedly recorded by the PDP in Bayelsa has sealed the decision to try it at the national level.
It was reported that the opposition party has successfully infiltrated the APC in the south-east. The defection has also began to raise eyebrows within the party as Chief Bisi Akande, the former interim leader of the APC warned members of the party to be wary of the influx of PDP members to APC.