Defections: APC is getting bloated — Ndume

… says Tinubu deserves support

… accuses PDP of playing irresponsible opposition

Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has expressed concern over the gale of defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by opposition parties’ governors and federal lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly.

He spoke on Sunday night, at the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual Award Lecture, held at NICON Luxury, Abuja.

Checks revealed that the APC currently has 25 APC governors. The Taraba state governor, Agbu Kefas, is expected to formally dump the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital and declare for the APC.

Further checks revealed that the ruling party has a comfortable majority in the parliament with 76 out of 109 Senators.

Delivering his acceptance speech shortly after he received the award, ‘Most Outstanding Legislature and Advocate of National Unity,’ the Senator representing Borno South, who claimed that most of those defecting into the APC have no value to add, cautioned that the party risks implosion.

He said, “I have warned that the APC is becoming overloaded. And when you overload a ship, especially with mostly empty cargo, it risks capsizing. If it capsizes, the owner of the ship will face a bigger problem.

“That is the situation we find ourselves in today. The PDP is uncomfortable playing the role of minority or opposition. I am not aware of anyone, especially governors or leaders, whom the president or any of us in the APC leadership has gone out of our way to persuade to join us. But when your brother is displaced by a crisis in his party and he knocks on your door, will you shut him out or welcome him? That is what is happening.

“However, once some of them join the APC, they contribute nothing. They remain silent, doing nothing, even though the party has been magnanimous enough to allow governors who defect to automatically become leaders of the party in their states.

“It is like an ordinary church member, or even a pastor, leaving one church to join another, and immediately wanting to become the pastor in charge. Or someone converting into Islam and insisting on becoming the Imam.

“Naturally, this creates problems. That is the confusion affecting our political landscape.”

The former Senate Leader appealed to Nigerians to lend support to the present administration as it addresses the various challenges confronting the country.

While he acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sincerity to deliver on his electoral promises, the lawmaker maintained that those saddled with the onerous task to assist him as Ministers and presidential aides in sensitive positions lack the capacity for the assignment they have been saddled with.

He said, “We must remember a common saying: charity begins at home. Let us be united. Please, Mr Chairman, let us be united behind our leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With unity, we can move this country forward.

“I call Asiwaju a leader because of his leadership qualities. Some may be surprised because I am often critical of the administration. I speak out because I fear that people may think we are failing. Yet we have a leader who is willing to listen.

“As the Honourable Justice rightly pointed out, we suffer from a lack of leadership, not because the president is not leading, but because one person cannot be the captain, the player, the goalkeeper, and the striker all at once. “When one person is left to run the entire field alone, nothing substantial can be achieved…I once said, and many accused me of being abusive or overly critical, that the government is overloaded with kakistocrats and kleptocrats. We must clear them out so we can move forward.”

Earlier in her speech, Mrs Dame Azikiwe, wife of Nigeria’s first president, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, commended the organisers of the annual award for their commitment to sustain in the memory of Nigerians, the worthy legacies of her late husband.

She admonished present public office holders to emulate the selfless contributions to national development by First Republic politicians. She particularly singled out for mentioning, her late husband, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, former Premier of Western Region and later leader of opposition at the Federal Parliament, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and former Premier of Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello.

She said, “They are long gone, but their legacies live on. Azikiwe lived for the unity of Nigeria, and I am happy a lot of people acknowledged his contributions. Leaders of the First Republic were selfless, not the leaders we have now, who are bothered about their pockets. I am always happy when people say good things about Zik and what he did.”

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