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Many politicians within the ranks of All Progressives Congress (APC) in at least 12 states have started defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party ahead of the primaries which begin next month.
With party primaries set for May 2022, APC factions who have lost out have started defecting in their numbers to rivals PDP and SDP.
The crisis began last year as fallout of the party congresses in the states which led to the emergence of factions.
Sokoto State House of Assembly, Aminu Achida, and the Deputy Chief Whip, Alhaji Murtala Maigona, who have been engaged in a feud with a former Governor of Sokoto, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, have both defected to the PDP following Adamu’s decision to recognise Wamakko’s faction.
Recall that Adamu had ordered the APC legal team to withdraw all cases from the Court of Appeal and obey all subsisting High Court judgments instead.
This decision was not well received in some states including in Akwa Ibom where the faction loyal to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, was inaugurated to the chagrin of erstwhile Caretaker Secretary, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, who is now accusing Adamu of disregarding an order of the Court of Appeal that the status quo be maintained.
Meanwhile the faction in Kwara State loyal to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, defected to the SDP.
In Zamfara State, a former Governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari; an ex-lawmaker, Senator Kabiru Mafara; and other top APC members have almost finalised plans to join the PDP.
Briefing journalists in Gusau on Sunday, the PDP chairman, Colonel Bala Mande (retd.), said the party had received Yari, Marafa and other top APC members who have joined the party together with their supporters.
In his words “Gentlemen of the press, we have called you to brief you on the joining of our great party the PDP by former Governor Yari, Senator Kabiru Mafara and their supporters. They have joined us, we have reached an agreement and we are going to implement the agreement.
“We have agreed to be together in one party, the PDP and work together for the success of the party. We have also agreed to work extra hard in order to reclaim Zamfara State in 2023 and save its people from the present their predicament. I have given the stakeholders a complete update of where we are as a result of this development.”
The chairman maintained that, Yari, Marafa and other top APC members would be officially received in Gusau in a colourful ceremony.