About 23 PDP lawmakers threaten to decamp to APC because governors oppose their reselection

NIGERIA'S main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing an internal crisis as 23 of its members in the Federal House of representatives have threatened to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) because they are not being allowed to return.

Next year, Nigeria goes to the polls, with all of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives up for grabs and some legislators are unhappy about the fact that their state governors intend to substitute them with anointed candidates.  Apparently, these soon-to-be defectors are uncomfortable with alleged manipulations by their governors to block them from returning to the house at the expiration of their tenure next year.

These lawmakers have vowed that although they may not be able to contest as nomination and expression of interest forms have closed in the APC, they would be satisfied with bringing their teeming supporters to the ruling party from the PDP. States said to be mostly affected by the nomination crises include Enugu, Ekiti, Anambra and Cross River, Gombe, Benue and Kogi.

Once source said the handling of nominations in the identified PDP states was frustrating sitting lawmakers from returning to the parliament. A committee overseeing the smooth nomination of all PDP candidates across the states has failed to resolve the crisis.

“We want to leave not because is our wish but the governors have pushed us to the wall and we are all moving We have fought both physically and mentally to defend PDP and democracy and despite our commitment to the party and democracy see what the governors are doing to us,” one lawmaker said.

Faced with the possibility of not returning, the lawmakers are demanding an early resumption of the House of Representatives ahead of the planned October resumption. “We are insisting that the National Assembly should resume early, to enable us perfect our defection strategy for good,” the source added.