By Daji Sani

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State yesterday lost all its members representing the party in the state House of Assembly to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The assembly is presently made up of 25 members who are all members of the PDP following the plenary where three members defected from the APC to the PDP.

The members are Mr. Wafarninyi Theman of Hong Constituency, Mr. Simon Issa of Song Constituency and Alhaji Abubakar Jarengol of Mubi North Constituency.

While announcing their defection at the plenary, matters of personal explanation,  the lawmakers, who were elected to the assembly on the platform the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC ), said after their consultation with their constituencies, they were advised to move to the PDP.

However, the Speaker of the assembly, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintiri, said the development was a welcome one, stressing that the action of the lawmakers was backed by Section 109, subsection G of the 1999 Constitution.

"By this development,  all the 25 members of this assembly are now PDP members," Fintiri said.

Shortly after the assembly’s plenary, the Chairman House Committee on Information, Adamu Kamale, told journalists that the development was that all the lawmakers in the state assembly are now members of the PDP.

He said what happened at the assembly was in fulfillment of Section 109 sub-section G of the 1999 Constitution which gives liberty to any elected member who happens to be sponsored by a political party and the party got involved in a merger or division.

“It is allowed for certain members to cross-carpet to any political party of their choice,” he said.

Kamale said it was remoured previously that the state assembly was made up of APC members, adding that in fairness, there was never a time in the floor of the assembly PDP members cross carpeted to APC but rather it was members of the APC that mostly defected to the PDP.

“For now, this is the only assembly that is ever homogenous in the state.”
He further added that the assembly had also endorsed the leadership under the state PDP chairman, Chief Joel Madaki, claming that the quarrel between the executive under Madaki and the assembly had been resolved.


“The House will no longer stand on the fence , it is clear that only PDP will take Adamawa people to the promise land that is why we supporting the PDP,” he said.
“Some APC members had earlier defected from APC to the PDP previously and the remaining three also left today” Kamale said.

However, a member representing Hong Constituency, Mr. Wafarninyi Theman also told journalists that his defection to the PDP was necessitated by the desire of members of his constituency asking him to move to the PDP following the fact that they might have a stake in PDP other than the APC in the forthcoming election.

He said politics was all about interest and certain ideologies, stressing that after due consultations with members of his constituency he had no option than agree with the people who voted him to power.

Reacting to the defection, the state Publicity Secretary of APC, Rev Phineas Padio,  said the development was normal and it would not affect the chances of APC winning elections in the state.

"Let me make it clear that the movement of those lawmakers will not affect and can never affect the APC in the state being a grassroots party,"  Padio said.


Source: ThisDay