With Defection Of 27 State Lawmakers, PDP Now Dead In Sokoto, Says Wamakko

Following the defection of 27 out of 30 members
of the Sokoto State House of Assembly from the
Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives
Congress yesterday, the state Governor, Alhaji
Aliyu Wamakko has pronounced the ruling party
dead in the state.
Wamakko said
with the defection, it was evident that the APC
had gained ground among the people of the
state, adding that the remaining three members
of the Assembly, who opted to stay put in PDP,
would not pose any threat to the popularity of
APC in the state.
It would be recalled that the Speaker of the
House of Assembly, Lawal Zayyana and other
Principal officers of the House were among
those that defected. Before the defection of the
state lawmakers, members of the State
Executive Council had defected en mass from
PDP to APC.
They were said to have claimed that their
defection was as a result of immense pressure
from their constituency.
This position was confirmed by the governor,
who said he did not force any of those that
defected to do so.
Wamakko was among five aggrieved governors
of the PDP that defected to the APC.
Others were Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu
Kwankwanso (Kano), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara)
and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).
Wamakko said, "Yes, it is true that 27 members
of Sokoto State House of Assembly have
defected to the APC.
"They were not forced, they did so in their own
volition and even three members of the House
are still in the PDP. We won't force them to
leave.
"With the defection, it is clear to all that the PDP
is dead in the state. The APC is soaring higher in
the state as it has been accepted by all and
sundry".
He promised to carry every member of the APC
along in the state, adding that "we will all work
together to build the party in the state and the
country".
Earlier, Wamakko's Special Adviser on Media,
Malam Sani Umar, had told reporters that the
refusal of the Deputy Governor of the state,
Alhaji Muktar Shagari to defect to the APC was
not an indication that the governor and his
deputy were not in good terms.
He said, "No, we won't force the deputy
governor to move to the APC because in
politics, there is no compulsion.
"You should recollect what happened when
former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
defected from the PDP to the defunct ACN, he
still remained in his position despite that.
"So, we won't force the deputy governor or the
three members of the House to join the APC".

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