Party woos Saraki, Dogara other APC Senators

dimeji akinloye

June 14, 2015 9:31 AM

With the ground set for a possible defection, the PDP is seemingly wooing the National Assembly heavyweights to its side.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said its doors are opened to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and their supporters in the event they decide to determinate their All Progressives Congress (APC) membership.

Following Saraki and Dogara’s alliance with PDP senators and other opposition parties, which earned them their current positions; the two have fallen out of favours with the APC leadership – the development that could necessitate a possible defection from the party.

Also, there have been agitations that the APC would punish Saraki and Dogara for going against the party’s decision, which was to field consensus candidates in the persons of Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

With the ground set for a possible defection, the PDP is seemingly wooing the National Assembly heavyweights to its side, which would apparently give the submerged party major push back to the political mainstream of the country.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary, PDP, Abdullahi Jalo, who spoke to Punch on Saturday, June 13, said the party is ready to accept Saraki, Dogara and their supporters in the National Assembly back to its fold.

Saraki was one of the leaders of a breakaway faction of the PDP known as the ‘New PDP’, which later merged with the APC.

Jalo said, “Any politician is entitled to join any political party that he so desires to join. The PDP is for everyone. We don’t quarrel with anybody. We are still soliciting for more acceptability.

“The PDP is open to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (former Governor of Lagos State and national leader, APC); Bisi Akande (former Governor of Osun State and ex-National Chairman, APC, Chief) and any other persons in the ruling APC.

“The PDP is large enough to accommodate many people of diverse backgrounds. That is why we remain the largest party in Africa. We are never going to stop anybody from leaving or victimise them after they have left.

“The former Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal (now Governor of Sokoto State) left and the party did not sanction him, unlike the APC that is threatening Saraki with sanctions.”

dimeji akinloye