JONATHAN'S PDP IS BLEEDING AS 37 LAWMAKERS DEFECT TO OPPOSITION PARTY

Thirty-seven out of the 208 PDP members in the House of Representatives on Wednesday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The defection was contained in a letter read by the Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, on the floor of the House.With the addition of the defected members, the APC now has 107 members in the lower chamber.

The defecting members in their letter, cited faction and division in the ruling PDP as reason for their action.They said that their action was in line with the provisions of Section 68 (1g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

It would be recalled that five governors elected on the PDP platform had earlier defected to the APC.They are, Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto, Musa Kwankwanso of Kano, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described Wednesday’s defection of 37 of its members in the House of Representatives, as ‘betrayal,’ warning that those members should know the implication of their actions. The declaration is contained in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, at the end of a meeting of the National Woking Committee of the party in Abuja.

“The PDP condemns what is fast unfolding as a desperate attempt by selfish politicians to cause confusion in our body polity,” he said. “We wish to assure all our members and supporters nationwide that the PDP remains unshaken by the departure of Fifth Columnists. We shall undoubtedly emerge stronger and more cohesive after these events.”

He said that if the defection was confirmed to be true, it was “treacherous and a huge betrayal” not only of the PDP but of voters who worked hard for the election of the defectors on the platform of the PDP.

Quoting Section 68 (1) (g) of the constitution, Metuh stressed that the courts have declared that the PDP is ONE and is not bedeviled by any factions. Any member of the National or State Assemblies who therefore renounces his membership of a UNITED PDP must be ready to face the consequences of defection in line with provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

Despite the purported defection of some members, he noted that the party still maintains a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives, and urged members “to utilize their majority to strengthen the support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda and the only recognized National Leadership of the Party.”