Governors who decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) have vowed not to return to their original party.
This is even after all but one of the PDP governors who decamped to All Progressives Congress (APC) have discovered that the grass is not greener in the APC, as many of them are being resisted by the original APC members in the states.
Leader of APC in Adamawa State, Buba Marwa, has refused to align with Murtala Nyako; while in Kwara State, Bukola Saraki is having a running battle with APC founding members. The case of kwankwaso in Kano is not any different. The only defecting governor who has been well-received by the state chapter of APC is Rotimi Amaechi.
With the exit of Bamanga Tukur believed to be the waiting trigger for the return of the PDP governors who defected to APC, the opposition party looked jittery and therefore quickly restated ownership of the former PDP governors.
The governors made their no-return resolution on Thursday night after hours of meeting at the Lagos House, Marina, Lagos, the official residence of the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.
They also joined the old governors in the APC to call on the National Assembly not to take any action that could be deemed victimisation of members who are defecting from the ruling party at the centre. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal had said on Thursday that he has no powers to invalidate the seats of the defectors.
The governors, who had earlier attended the 75th birthday anniversary of Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, met behind closed doors at the residence of Governor Fashola, after which they released a communiqué that was read by Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, who is the chairman of the APC Governors Forum.
“The reason why they left was not because of Tukur; they left because PDP has not fulfilled the aspirations of the people”, Okorocha said on behalf of his colleagues.
Part of the communique said the governors were calling on the National Assembly to protect the rights and privileges of members to belong to parties of their choice. They also want the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make adequate preparations for the forthcoming polls in Ekiti and Osun States, and ensure that the elections are free and fair.
The Forum expressed concerns over the state of affairs in Rivers State, where one of their colleagues, Rotimi Amaechi, is the governor. The governors decried the alleged cases of police brutality and the partisanship of the law enforcement agency.
Commenting on the resignation of National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, Okorocha said the action would in no way affect the fortunes of the APC, since none of those who defected is still interested in returning to the PDP.
There had been insinuations that one of the mandates given those left behind in the PDP’s National Executive Council (NEC) is the return of all aggrieved former members of the party.
Governors who were part of the meeting include Fashola, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo.