BEVERLY HILLS, CA, November 26, (THEWILL) – There are indications that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may lose its leadership of the House of Representatives with the merger of the new PDP made up of the G-7 Governors with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
The House of Representatives has 208 PDP lawmakers as against the APC’s 137 while 15 seats are shared among All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party, Accord Party and Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).
House sources indicate that about 52 members of the PDP from the five states where the governors Tuesday defected to the APC may dump the PDP thereby swelling the strength of the opposition to conveniently assume the leadership of the second chamber. THEWILL learnt that Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who hails from Sokoto State may move over to the APC in order to keep his position and realise his governorship ambition in 2015.
The calculation shows that Kano with 12 PDP lawmakers would merge with the APC’s 12 making 24 while the 11 PDP members from Sokoto would pitch tent with the APC too. The six lawmakers from Kwara are expected to move along with
their governor and leader Senator Bukola Saraki. . In Rivers State, only eight out of the 13 are said to be loyal to Governor Rotimi Amaechi and would move along with him while in Adamawa, four out of the seven PDP lawmakers are said to be with Governor Murtala Nyako.
If this happens, the PDP’s numerical strength would be cut down to 156, while the APC would have the majority of 189 lawmakers.
The position of the 11 PDP lawmakers from Jigawa is still uncertain as Governor Sule Lamido stays put with the PDP and Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger has also pulled out of the political marriage hence the 10 PDP lawmakers from the state would not be part of the new alignment.
The spokesman of the House, Hon. ZakarI Mohammed, who is of the nPDP (Kwara) could not be reached for comments as he is presently out of the country. Similarly, efforts to get the nPDP caucus leader in the House, Hon. Andrew Uchendu, were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the opposition in the House has said the defection of the governors is a welcome development and a signal that the country would soon be emancipated from the PDP.
Deputy minority leader, Hon. Abdulrahman Kawu Suleiman, Tuesday said: “It is a welcome development that will forever shape the political history of Nigeria. With this merger, a new chapter has now been opened in our collective struggles for the emancipation of the Nigerian people from the 14 years of internal slavery, bondage and suppression under the PDP.”
Minority leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, in his reaction said: “We receive them and all others who are committed to change and who are progressive in inclination with open arms. The change that all Nigerians desire has only just started. ”
One of Amaechi’s loyalists, Hon. Dakuku Peterside (PDP, Rivers),said
“It is a watershed in our democratic journey and hope rekindled. The beneficiary is the Nigerian people, democracy and democratic culture can never be the same again and our democratic institutions will be strengthened by implication. Never again will the people be taken for granted.”
By Saint Mugaga, Abuja
