JUST IN: Massive Defection Looms In APC As 5 Govs, Others Protest Unfair Treatment

Aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressive’s Congress, APC have expressed their total displeasure against the unfair treatments they are being subjected to by the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the party as a whole.

These party members include the former new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) block that defected from the now opposition party and merged to form the All Progressive’s Congress at the of the 2015 general elections.

They comprise of five sitting Governors of Sokoto, Kano, Kwara, Adamawa and Rivers States and former Governors of Kebbi, Gombe, Osun, former Vice President of Nigeria, former acting National Chairman of PDP, sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives, many serving members of the National Assembly and many renowned politicians and PDP Elders.

As the one-time Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar publicly complained of being sidelined by the President Buhari before he finally returned to PDP late last year, these nPDP block have also written their outpouring letter to the National Chairman of APC, Chief John-Odigie Oyegun to chronicle their grievances yesterday, May 9, and therefore demand a emergency meeting to that effect within the next  seven days.

According to the letter signed by their own National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje (CON), and National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the former governor of Osun state, their grievances include:

(a) In the constitution of the Federal Executive Council, (FEC) the New PDP block was generally sidelined as virtually no position was conceded to it. The only member of FEC that belonged to former New PDP block comes from a State that contributed virtually no vote to the APC in the 2015 presidential elections.

(b) There has been no significant patronage and appointments to executive positions in various government agencies such as Chief Executives and Executive Directors of government agencies and parastatals as members of our block of the party continue to helplessly watch as these positions are shared by the erstwhile CPC, ACN, ANPP and even APGA blocks of the party and those who have no party at all.

(c) In appointments into boards of various government agencies, very few former New PDP members were patronised. These are however not commensurate with our contributions to the growth and victory of the party.

(d) When members of the former New PDP block showed interest in running for the offices of President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, they were subjected to a vicious and relentless political opposition as if they were not legitimate members of the APC family.

(e) During the party primaries preparatory to the 2015 General Elections, most of the promises made to sitting members of the National Assembly, who belonged to the former new PDP in terms of a level playing field were reneged upon or observed more in breach.

(f) There has been general lack of consultation, non recognition and even persecution of former New PDP members and leaders by the party and government. For example, some of our leaders are denied the security cover necessary to visit their constituencies even though they are elected representatives of the people in a government they sacrificed so much for.

(g) Harassment, intimidation and persecution of former New PDP leaders by the government, is still an ongoing affair. We do not want to overstate the obvious by cataloguing names of former new PDP stalwarts that are targets of this political pogrom.

(h) There is inadequate reflection of programme and policy contributions of members of the former New PDP block in the running of the government.

They further established that the meeting towards the deliberations of their conditions penned down may lead to a harmonious APC where justice, equity, fairness and peace will reign and enable APC avoid rancour, reinvigorate the pace of national development and face the 2019 General Elections as one united party.

“Our belief is that it does not augur well for our party if a section of it feels that it is being treated as outcasts and meddlesome interlopers in the party they rightly belong with the legitimate expectation to be treated with justice both in the running of the party and the government.

In conclusion, we the members of the former New PDP block of the APC wish to reiterate that this letter is written patriotically with the best of intentions and the good of our party, the APC, and is issued to alert the leadership of the APC and in particular, the leader of our party, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who only recently indicated his intention to seek a second term as President, of grievances that exist within the party with a view to ensuring justice for all members of the APC family regardless of the blocks they came from prior to the,, formation of the APC”, they ended.