The National Organizing Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Umar Bature, says defections from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, are primarily motivated by personal interests rather than ideological or party-based reasons.
Bature, while speaking on Monday, dismissed claims that internal party issues were the reasons for the defections, stressing that the moves were driven by individual ambitions.
The Organizing Secretary was reacting to reports that the APC is luring members of the opposition with promises of automatic tickets in the 2027 elections and lucrative contracts.
“Nobody is leaving the party because of internal party issues; it’s purely personal interests.
“They believe that after the Edo election, anything can happen. If they’re in the APC, they think the government will perform some ‘magic’ to ensure they win the election. That’s all,” he stated.
Bature further disclosed that defectors, especially members of the National Assembly, could face severe legal consequences for their actions.
According to him, all lawmakers had sworn affidavits to the PDP before contesting elections, and the party plans to challenge their defections in the federal high courts.
“They will hear from us, and from the courts. I can assure you they won’t escape accountability because they all swore affidavits to the party before contesting.
“If they defect, they’ll lose their seats. We don’t need to go to the assembly. We’ll trigger the process at the federal high courts,” he warned.
