Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja and Paul Orude, Bauchi
Reacting to the defection, the PDP in Bauchi State, yesterday, described Yakubu Dogara as a “political prostitute and nomadic politician” whose actions had indicated long ago that he wanted to leave the party no sooner than he joined and won his election in 2019.
Speaking with journalists at the party’s headquarters in Bauchi, the state Chairman of the party, Hamza Korshi Akuyam, said Dogara had lost his reputation and became known as a politically unstable person that jumps from one party to the other, based on personal than people-based issues.
Akuyam said as a member of the PDP, Dogara never for once attended any of their meetings, despite several invitations to him, even as he accused the former speaker of being an absentee federal lawmaker in the 9th Assembly since the 2019 general election.
He called on the supporters of the party not to lose sleep assuring that the party was ready to go to court to fight the mandate as Dogara is occupying a position that belongs to the PDP and should resign.
Also reacting, Chairman of the BoT, Senator Jubrin Walid, in a statement, yesterday, linked his defection to the 2023 presidency.
“I have read with mixed feelings the reasons given by former speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara for decamping to the APC. I am equally sorry for Dogara for not adhering to all avenues available in the party constitution for settlement of disputes or complaints by a member of the party. I became more disturbed with the reasons given by Dogara for his decamping considering his position as a former speaker. In his position as a member of BoT, Dogara has never laid any complaints to me as Chairman of BoT, which is the highest advisory organ of the party and remains the conscience of the party.
“Considering seriously the reasons given by Dogara for his decamping, one is compelled to say that Dogara has other strong reasons for leaving PDP. I am beginning to suspect that the former speaker has an underground motives for joining APC,” Walid stated.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the party, Mallam Bibi Dogo, has called on NASS leadership to declare his seat vacant.
Dogo in a statement in Bauchi, described the defection as political indiscipline saying the people of Bogoro, Dass and Tafawa Balewa who elected him on the platform of the PDP were no longer comfortable being “totally eclipsed” in the House.
He said that the people of the area would set a machinery in motion for Dogara’s recall and that the process would soon commence. He alleged that Dogara had made three defections in recent times,moving from PDP to APC ahead of the 2015 elections, from APC to PDP ahead of 2019 election and now from PDP to APC.
“His jumping from party to party smacks of political indiscipline but you know that a rolling stone gathers no moss. Unfortunately, too, he lacks the political discipline to be trusted with any public office in Bogoro, Dass, Tafawa Balewa. How can you trust a man whose only political antecedent is jumping from one party to another?” Dogo queried.