By Taye Obateru
JOS—Senator representing Plateau Central District, Major Sati Gogwim (Rtd.) who recently decamped from the Action Congress (AC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has defended his action saying he acted in accordance with the country’s constitution.
He told journalists, weekend, that the AC in Plateau State had broken into three factions at the time he decamped making it difficult for him to relate well with any of them. “I did not know which of the factions to relate with,” he said.
He said the national secretariat of the AC acknowledged this in its letter to INEC and security agencies in the state to justify the sacking of the state executive and setting up of a caretaker committee.
The Senator said his decamping was backed by Section 68(1g) of the constitution of Nigeria hence there was nothing wrong in returning to PDP where he originally belonged when AC was in disarray.
He wondered why there should be any fuss on his action from certain quarters especially the national leadership of the AC which he alleged never related with him in any form when he was in the party.
According to Gogwim, “As I’m talking to you, most of the top officers of the AC cannot claim to know me because they have never seen me. They have never related with me as I have never been invited to any meeting of the party despite being a senator on its platform.
“Even the dissolution of the state exco of the party, about which they wrote to INEC, the police and SSS, was not communicated to me. So if they did not recognise me, what I’m I doing in the party?”
Gogwim acknowledged that some of those interested in contesting for the senatorial seat in 2011 were already showing up but said he was not afraid of anyone as “2011 is in the hands of God”.
He said the decamping of a lot of elected people into the PDP would not lead to a one party state but suggested the pegging of the number of political parties to a maximum of two or three. He described the current 52 or so political parties as unwieldy.
Satty Gogwim’s action in nothing less than anexhbition of stupidity that has come to be the trade-mark of the Senate else how can you explain the fact that custodians of the Constitution have turned around to be the violators of same? It also confirms the insincerity of the Yar’Adua led government and PDP to Nigerians.
May the hurricane that Osagie Oscar Asemota talked about consume them and all those who are guilty of subverting our march to democratic emancipation!
unqualify senator is qick to jump to conclusion, haven’t trod the wrong part of party cross carpet, such is a coup plotter that sits on the fence like late Gen. id bisala of a coward in Dimka’s coup that killed murtala mohammed, for which Abiola co-sponsored with obj’s undeniableknowledge!
I hope the yet to come Hurricane flush evil from Nigeria will not bypass this flirticious senator? as it shows that, he is one the party-virus troubling the illegitimate National Assembly of Nigeria!