Like the game of chess, powerful political figures in recent have been seen making moves and countermoves to actualise their respective political aspirations ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The latest is the report of three northern governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) set to dump the ruling party for the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to TheCable NG, the three governors are on their way to the PDP any moment from now.
It was also revealed that as many as 30 senators and 70 members of the Federal House of Representatives are expected to follow suit before the national assembly goes on recess in the next two weeks.
Newsheadline247 understands the potential defectors are members of the Buba Galadima led Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), the splinter group of the APC.
Recall that most of them were in the PDP before defecting to APC under the aegis of “new PDP” in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.
The CableNG revealed Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state, Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), and Samuel Ortom (Benue) as the“first batch” of big guns expected to defect from APC to PDP.
A southern governor was quoted saying “the plan also is that some APC governors will not defect but will remain behind to inflict maximum damage on the party from within.”
Tambuwal is rumoured to harbour a presidential ambition while Ahmed, who is coming to the end of his second term in Kwara, is expected to run for the Senate.
“Ortom, on his own part, has been guaranteed safe return to the PDP by Senator David Mark. He is considered the best bet in the circumstance as the incumbent governor, and he can leave the party to George Akume,” another insider, who attended some of the strategy sessions revealed.
Emerging details also indicate the Senate President, Bukola Saraki is also expected to return to the PDP and is reported to be nursing a presidential ambition — bolstered by the recent Supreme Court judgment which freed him of criminal charges over allegations of false asset declaration.
Following the series of crisis that hit the ruling party at the state congresses in June, some of the APC governors and lawmakers who lost out have been guaranteed automatic tickets by the PDP to entice them to the party.
APC currently controls 24 states while PDP has 11 and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one.
If the three governors defect as planned, PDP will increase to 14 while APC will be reduced to 21.
