Nigeria’s political outlook has never been as uncertain as it is currently, as the country’s politicians shift between parties faster than they have ever done in the past.
In what looks like the most significant defection that will be hitting the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Godswill Akpabio, the former governor of Akwa Ibom State and minority leader in the Senate, has concluded arrangements to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The move has sent shockwaves through the political environment as Akpabio is seen as one of the leading lights of the PDP in the South South and nationally.
Ahead of his planned defection, Akpabio on Sunday met with President Muhammadu Buhari in London with the picture of a bowing Akpabio shared all over tweeter as he met the President.
The visit came a day after the Presidency confirmed that Akpabio, a PDP lawmaker who represents Akwa Ibom North West in the National Assembly, would pitch his tent with the APC on Wednesday or Thursday this week.
Senior special assistant to President Buhari on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, had on Saturday announced that the senator would be formally received into APC on Thursday, August 9.
The presidential aide posted on Facebook a picture of Akpabio and the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, noting that there would be an APC rally in the state on Thursday to receive Akpabio to the APC.
But a different post on twitter by senator Ita Enang, Presidential Liaison Officer-Senate on Sunday disclosed that that the APC would be receiving Akpabio into the APC family on Wednesday, August 8, at an elaborate ceremony in Akwa Ibom.
Akpabio move from the PDP will be the second most significant defection in the Senate in the last one-week after the defection of the Senate President Bukola Saraki to the PDP. Until this planned defection, Akpabio was considered as one of the leading lights in the PDP in the South South and his defection will come as a surprise to many in the region. It reflects the fast shifting alignments taking place in the Nigerian political landscape ahead of the 2019 elections.
The ruling APC has been hit with gale of defections to the main opposition party in recent weeks. Some APC chieftains that have defected to PDP recently include: Senate President Bukola Saraki; former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal; Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Samuel Ortom (Benue).
Others are former Kano State Governor and senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District Rabiu Kwankwaso; former PDP National Chairman and serving senator, Barnabas Gemade.
Others are: Ahmed Ibeto, Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, who recently resigned his appointment and pitched his tent with the PDP; Dino Melaye, chairman Senate Committee on FCT and over 50 federal lawmakers.
There are have been several rumours connected with Akpabio’s defection. Some have linked with an alleged case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). His defection is said to be an attempt to avoid prosecution by the EFCC for alleged crimes. Others have linked it with his estranged relationship with his political godson and governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, who is not defecting with Akpabio to the APC.
While Akpabio’s defection was making news, the deputy governor of Kano state announced his resignation on Sunday evening in a move that reflects the ongoing supremacy battle between the APC and PDP in Kano state following the defection of the immediate former governor of the state Rabiu Kwankwaso to the PDP.
Hafiz Abubakar, the deputy governor, who is also a professor of nutrition is said to have quickly resigned after he got information that members of the state house of assembly were set to impeach him. He is known to be a loyalist of Kwankwaso.
In his resignation letter, he cited “irreconcilable differences on matters relating to governance and government operations, personal opinion and respect for democratic ideals and values.” The expectation is that he will also be defecting to the PDP like Kwankwaso.
More intrigues and drama is expected to unfold in the political space this week as calls mount for the reconvening of the National Assembly and the impeachments of the senate president. This is as rumours spread that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was dishing out millions of naira to have the senate president impeached.
The NNPC had to issue a statement Sunday evening denying the allegation. The Corporation in a terse statement issued by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, described the report as the handiwork of mischief makers seeking to drag the NNPC and its GMD into a purely political affair totally different from its mandate.
The NNPC emphasized that the report is not only false but also an affront on the verifiable reforms in the operations of the corporation under the remit of Baru. It called on all well-meaning members of the public and oil and gas industry stakeholders to discountenance the said story. Nonetheless, some senators have threatened that unless Saraki resigns, he is going to be impeached. This threat will raise political tensions in the country as both PDP and APC senators try to outwit themselves in the national assembly.
Outside the national assembly, new political ambitions continue to be formed as the number of people seeking to contest for the Presidency under the PDP umbrella continue to increase. The biggest challenge facing the party now is how to manage these surpluses of presidential ambitions.
Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Sunday evening, formally declared his intention to contest for the Presidency in 2019. Dankwambo said he decided to join the presidential race for the 2019 general elections to help salvage Nigeria from the cesspit of incompetent and corrupt leadership of the ruling APC led by President Buhari.
The former Accountant General of the Federation, who addressed a delegate meeting at the new Banquet Hall of the State House, Gombe, said that consultation “is ongoing on the need for the party to pick its candidate from the zone.”
Dankwambo’s entry into the presidential race will pitch him against other contestants, who have earlier declared for the presidency under the PDP platform. He will slug it out with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Makarfi, former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa and former Jigawa State Governor, Tanimu Turaki.
Dankwambo will also battle for the PDP presidential ticket with other party bigwigs such as former Kano state governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal who may soon declare for the presidency.
Dankwambo’s declaration also came the same day former president Olusegun Obasanjo said he cannot support Atiku for the presidential position in the country. Obasanjo’s position is a huge blow against Atiku who was fast emerging as a frontline runner for the 2019 presidential race.
Obasanjo and a group of generals are looking for a credible candidate to throw their weight behind to defeat President Buhari in the 2019 polls. If they are not going to support Atiku, that could damage his chances of picking the PDP ticket the ticket of the coalition of political parties being put together to defeat Buhari.
