Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South Senatorial District, has formally resigned his position as Minority Leader of the Senate.

His resignation was conveyed in a letter dated 26th May, 2022. 

The letter was read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, at the start of plenary, on Wednesday. 

Abaribe’s resignation as Minority Leader of the Senate, followed his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). 

The letter titled: “Notification Of Resignation From Membership Of The Peoples Democratic Party In The Senate”, reads, “This is to notify you and my dear colleagues in the Senate that I have formally resigned my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party through my ward.

“This also means my resignation as Minority Leader of the Senate.

“I wish to thank you and my dear colleagues in the Leadership of the Senate for warm camaraderie we enjoyed while I was Minority Leader.”

Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Kola Balogun, has formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). 

Balogun’s notice of defection was contained in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and read at the start of plenary on Wednesday. 

His defection brings the number of APC Senators in the upper chamber to 70. 

According to the lawmaker, his decision to defect from the PDP was due to the lack of internal democracy in the party at the state level for the emergence of leaders and representatives.

He added that the development has further led to the existence of several factions and aggrieved groups within the party. 

Balogun’s defection letter reads in part, “The decision to resign was informed by the Oyo State Governor’s reign of impunity that had led him into supplanting the constitutional assigned roles of party bureaucrats and party stakeholders and replacing them with unilaterally declared decisions on who and who should emerge as the legitimate representatives of the people.

“This unconstitutional, flagrant and dictatorial procedural breeches for the emergence of leaders and representatives of the people has led to the factionalisation of the party, this breeding several aggrieved groups within the party and mass exodus of key leaders from the party.

“This development has laid the foundation for the failure of the party at subsequent polls and also stand to jeopardize the political future and interest of my people, who had worked assiduously to get me elected in the 2019 February elections.

“Rising from the meeting of the key stakeholders in my district, on 27th April, 2022, my people unanimously decided that I should resign my membership of the People’s Democratic Party as they were ready to also rain and decamp en masse with me to the All Progressives Congress with immediate effect. 

“This notification becomes exigency in order to intimate the Distinguished Members of Senate with the recent political developments in the PDP-led administration in Oyo State, and the direction in which my people and I are presently focused.”

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has called on lawmakers to stay committed to the political system of their respective parties not minding the outcome of the just concluded primaries. 

The Senate President made this known on Tuesday in an address delivered to welcome members of the upper chamber back from the break. 

The chamber, suspended plenary on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, to enable lawmakers participate in the primaries of political parties.

Lawan, in his welcome address, also underscored the need for the Senate to prioritise the nation’s security challenges, as well as undertake further amendment of the Electoral Act.

According to him, the electoral process in the just concluded primaries have thrown up issues that must be critically looked at by the National Assembly. 

Speaking on the outcome of the party primaries, he said, “Some of us participated in the congresses for their Senatorial Districts, some of our colleagues went for Governorship of their states, and four of us went for the Presidency of our great country.

“We have recorded different results from those activities, but as politicians, it is never over until It is over.

“We should continue to support the political system that we believe in. 

“Those of our colleagues who have recorded successes, we wish them more successes in the general elections.

“[And] those of who have not succeeded as much, we are hopeful that between now and then, the situation may be better.

“But on the whole, our commitment to ensuring that this democracy benefits from legislative Interventions of the National Assembly should remain our focus. 

“As a Parliament, we still have issues that require our legislative intervention.

“The security of our country, still needs our attention and, therefore, I urge all of us to continue from where we stopped before we went on recess, in giving due and desired attention for the improvement In the security of our citizens.

“The electoral process may have thrown up certain issues that the National Assembly could also look at and address, because they electoral act itself, even though a good document, is not a perfects document.

“So, it needs some refinement from time to time to improve our electoral process.”

The Senate President added that the Ninth Assembly in the last three years has done so much in improving the quality of governance. 

…Abaribe to resign as Minority Leader Wednesday  

Abuja – Two prominent members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senate Majority Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, and Adamu Aliero, have officially defected to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

Also to defect formally tomorrow, Wednesday, is the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, whose  defection to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and exit as Minority Leader was deferred as a result of the inability of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to come with his defection and resignation letter to plenary. 

Although an announcement to that effect was made by Senate President Lawan, it was however agreed that Abaribe’s letter be formally read on the floor before his exit as Minority Leader, after a point of order raised by Senator Gabriel Suswam. 

On the other hand, the formal defection of Senators Yahaya Abdullahi and Adamu Aliero  from Kebbi State, were conveyed in two separate letters addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and read on the floor during plenary on Tuesday. 

Both lawmakers represent Kebbi North and Kebbi Central Senatorial Districts, respectively. 

The defection of the APC Senators brings the total number of PDP Senators to 39 from the previous 38, with the exclusion of Abaribe who is set to formally defect from the opposition party to APGA on Wednesday.

It also cuts down on the number of APC Senators from 71 to 69 in the upper chamber. 

The Senate Leader, in his letter titled, “Defection From APC to PDP And Resignation As The Majority Leader Of The 9th Senate”, said his decision was informed by the democratic challenges and deficits faced by the APC in Kebbi State.

He explained that all attempts to remedy the situation through the intervention of North-West Zone Governors’ and the defunct Abdullahi Adamu-led National Reconciliation Committee failed.

The text of the letter reads, “I write to inform you of the withdrawal of my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and consequently resign from my position as

the Majority Leader of the 9th Senate.

“I came to this decision after a very hard struggle with my conscience and emotions. It is either to remain on the side of my people, or to selfishly look the other way. All politics is local. I cannot therefore in good Conscience, continue to work for the success of this administration at the centre while the people of my state, my primary constituency, continue wallow in abject poverty and destitution under the misrule and manipulation of a despot. 

“I have therefore decided to pitch my tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in order to join forces with my compatriots at home who are struggling against incompetence, imposition and violation of democratic norms, principles and practices.

“The democratic challenges and deficits in my state, Kebbi State, did not just start from the last congresses, but right from July last year when the governor illegally decapitated the State Leadership of the Party, imposed unelected ward, Local government and State executives of the Party. 

“This matter was brought to the attention of the caretaker Committee of the Party who failed to bring the Governor to order. 

“Efforts by all well meaning individuals including Your Excellency, Mr. President, were equally spurned. The North-West Zone Governors’ entreaties were ignored. The defunct Abdullahi Adamu-led National Reconciliation Committee’s intervention to find amicable resolutions failed. All primarily due to the manipulative intransigence of the Governor.

“At a point I thought of resort to the courts, but decided against that course of action after realizing that political challenges require political solutions in the democratic arena where it is the people and not the judges who are the final arbiters. 

“So, after having failed to get justice in my former Party, the APC, I have jumped ship to the PDP together with our teeming supporters in a struggle to democratically bring to an end the misrule and tyranny currently gripping Kebbi State.

“Mr. President, I appreciate and will continue to support your leadership. I cherish and remain eternally grateful to you and all my colleagues for the unconditional support and cooperation rendered to me in the last three golden years of our tenure. 

“A tenure that witnessed unprecedented unity, productivity, sense of purpose and patriotism in the conduct of our legislative responsibilities. l also plead with any of my colleagues whom I have offended in the course of our interactions to please forgive me.

“While praying for Allah’s guidance and peaceful journey to the forthcoming elections, please accept the assurances of my highest respect and esteem.”

The just concluded Presidential Primaries of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) and the All Progressives ‘ Congress, (APC) have been adjudged as a show of shame and mockery.

A statement by the International Coalition for Deocracy and Good Governance, (ICDGG) described both exercises as lacking in every essence of democracy.

The statement signed by the organisation’s Executive Director, Barrister Emmanuel Anene noted that, “the two events were not only show of shame and mockery of democratic tenets, but has made Nigeria a laughing stock among the committee of Nations.

” lt was glaring that the Presidential primary elections of the two major parties, PDP and APC were heavily monetized and the highest bidders emerged flag bearers of the parties

“In advanced democracies, parties’ standard bearers at all levels are elected based on competence and capacity to perform in various offices they desire and not on the basis of how deep their pockets are” the statement stressed.

ICDGG however warned that the consequences of compromised and monetized electoral processes could not be overemphasized in that such would leave electorate with no choices of voting the right leaders into offices stressing that “no good choice would be made out of a highly corrupt processes such as witnessed in the primaries of PDP and APC”.

According to ICDGG, “the processes will certainly deepen the already growing aparty among the electorates who believe that their votes do not count and as such see no reason in participating in electioneering processes.

“This is unhealthy for our democratic journey and if not checked, it will provide opportunities for indivuduals with corrupt and unknown sources of wealth to perpetually hijack political leaderships and keep looting our treasury”.

The organisation also berated the anti corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) for failure to swing into action by effecting arrests of both the delegates and the aspirants despite glaring evidences that there were heavy financial inducements to undulate voters.

ICDGG noted that the reported donation of N13 million by a PDP delegate from Kaduna who attended PDP Presidential primary election to his community and the subsequent use of vigilantes by a certain failed aspirant to recover his money from some delegates provided veritable leads for the Commission to have effected arrests by now.

It equally urged the Independent Electoral Commission, (INEC) ” to prove that it is capable of guaranteeing credible election come 2023 by investigating the alleged heavy vote buying in the primaries of PDP and APC and if proven disqualify those aspirants involved in such act..

“Similarly, the EFCC which paraded its operatives at the venues of the primaries should immediately get ready to prosecute those implicated in the alleged crime of vote buying because without such action taken against the two political parties the 2023 election is already doomed” ICDGG concluded.