The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kaduna State has condemned the recent defections of its members to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Maria Dogo, in a statement on Sunday, said the defections, particularly by serving legislators elected under the PDP platform, are a brazen betrayal of the trust placed in them by the people.
“While we acknowledge the constitutional rights of every Nigerian to freedom of association, we view these defections as unacceptable. Consequently, we assure the people of Kaduna State, particularly those from the affected constituencies, that the PDP leadership will invoke the provisions of the constitution to recover our mandates, as there is no division or split in our party leadership at the national level.
“According to Sections 68(1)(g) and 109 of the Constitution, serving legislators who defect to another party must vacate their seats. We urge the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Kaduna State House of Assembly to declare the seats of these defectors vacant and notify the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct bye-elections.”
According to the statement, the PDP remains unshaken by the defections and also the preferred choice of the vast majority of the people of Kaduna State.
“Our party’s popularity was evident in the last local government council elections, where the people stood by us in rejecting the APC’s attempt to impose its candidates, leading to the shameless announcement of candidates who couldn’t even vote for themselves, as winners.”
”The stark reality is that some of the defectors are spent forces or overambitious politicians who either lost in the PDP’s zoning arrangements in their constituencies or lost primaries in 2022 and have been secretly working for the APC.
”Their defection, therefore, is a desperate attempt to secure automatic tickets in 2026, as the APC doesn’t hold primaries.
The statement challenged the governor to reshuffle his lopsided and inept cabinet and appoint the defectors to strategic positions if he truly believes they have value to offer.
The PDP advised Governor Uba Sani and the Kaduna State government to stop wasting taxpayers’ money on elaborate receptions for defectors but focus on delivering the dividends of democracy, which have eluded the citizens since the inception of this administration
