THE presidential ambition of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar has suffered a setback in the North-East region as a stalwart of the party in the region who was a staunch supporter of former Vice-President, Senator Saidu Umar Kumo has announced his defection from the party and pitched tent with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
While confirming his defection in a telephone interview with newsmen in Gombe on Tuesday, Senator Umar Kumo, who is a well known critic of President Muhammadu Buhari said that the PDP want to rubbish his political career by trying to make him a ‘nobody’ in the scheme of things related to the 2019 general elections vowing that with his defection to the APC, the fortunes of the PDP and its candidates will definitely be affectted negatively in the forthcoming elections.
According to him, “you don’t joke with a political power horse who has thousands of followers and who had added value to the party by trying to make him irrelevant in the build up to a general elections.”
The one time National Secretary of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and former Special Advisor to Late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua said that he will soon pick his membership card of the APC in his ward in Akko local Government Area to prove to the World that he means business.
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While pledging his total loyalty to the APC, Senator Umar Kumo said that the APC stands as the better party to serve Nigeria well while President Muhammadu Buhari remains the candidate to beat following his track records of integrity and his sincere desire to take Nigeria to the next level.
He said that: “I want to assure you and all Nigerians that I will work for APC candidates in Gombe State from the Governorship candidate, Alhajo Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya and State Legislative candidates, President Muhammadu Buhari, who stands as the best candidate for Nigeria for now and all the APC National Assembly candidates in Gombe State.”
The defection of Senator Umar Kumo, who was the Director-General of the Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo Campaign Organization and fought relentlessly in returning Hassan Dankwambo to office as Governor in 2015 is said to be a major setback to the PDP in the State and the North-East region as a whole considering his large pool of political followers.
Efforts to get the Gombe state chapter of the PDP to react to the development proved abortive as non of the officials contacted by news men agreed to speak saying that they were still monitoring the development.
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