By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe

Since 1999 when the current democratic dispensation was ushered in the country, politicians have left no one in doubt that there is nothing wrong in defecting from their parties.

In our society, where political ideology and philosophy don’t matter, politicians dump political parties at will.

It could be because of lack of political patronage or the issue of ‘stomach infrastructure’.

Other reasons could be because of political god father or lack of political appointments.

This development means our politicians, often times care only about political interest and nothing more.

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In Gombe of recent, false claims trailed the defection of some top politicians from the ruling APC amid the excellent performance of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.

For instance, Alhaji Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna resigned his membership of the party and returned to his initial party PDP simply because he is nursing governorship ambition in 2023 knowing full well that the state leader of APC , Yahaya, naturally ,would love to consolidate on the gains made in the first tenure of four years in another four years come 2023.

Some other appointees of the governor also resigned their appointments.

They include Special Adviser on Social Investment, Mrs. Dijatu Bappa, Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Relations who was also one- time Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Garba Jijji Gadam, Malam Hamza Adamu Soye, a former Chairman of Gombe Sports Commission, and Hon. Rambi Ayala representing Billiri East at the state House of Assembly.

Nobody is against the defectors because it is their constitutional right but what we are saying is that defection is normal in a democracy.

“It is quite possible to use morals, principles, antecedents, perennial history of political defeats and inconsistency to scale-weigh any defection-the reason for defection always defines it”, a political analyst told Sunday Vanguard.

“For instance, defection can be undertaken due to lack of ideology, political interest, pursuit of political ambition, poor performance.

“However, it is worth noting that among those who have defected from the ruling party in Gombe, APC, no one has formally or informally, openly or secretly, cited poor performance of the present administration as his or her reason for defection”.

Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osibanjo commended the governor’s passion and drive for human capital development initiatives which he acknowledged as the factor making economic progress clearly visible in Gombe.

The Vice President had said on that occasion: “Inuwa Yahaya came into governance loaded with brilliant ideas and vision; it is these ideas that are being translated into economic policies and the policies into administrative initiatives which are now yielding fruitful results for all to see in Gombe today”.

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on his part, described Yahaya as a visionary leader who, in no time, would drive economic values to the state he is presiding over while observing that the visions and policies so far espoused by the administration is a clear attestation of a man with a blueprint of his destination even before the journey commenced.

The commendations remain uncontestable as these two distinguished Nigerians and numerous others have publically commended the pragmatic leadership of Yahaya in a manner that shows that the defections from Gombe APC have no bearing to the welfare of the people other than political indulgence and political ambitions of those who defected.

Another analyst said: “With this understanding, therefore, such action, irrespective of the lowly nature, should not give any misleading impression other than the usual politicking and the attendant propaganda even in an uncharted territory as history informs us.

“Thus, the recent development, as it was in the past, can best be described as a case of desperation for power, where direction in politics is determined and driven by ambition to lead at all costs just to quench one’s thirst for power or satisfy personal ego.

“This is the truth otherwise no sane member of the ruling APC in Gombe would ever think of leaving the party on account of the tremendous transformations that have taken place under the leadership of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya with a lot of benefits to the people and a brighter future for all stakeholders”.

Incidentally, what we are saying is about those who left the ruling APC in the state while thousands of PDP are also joining APC on account of credible performance and achievements in the area of infrastructural development in Gombe.

Nobody can ignore the enduring legacies of Yahaya.

Notably, Habu Mohammed Shinga, Ya’u Kwadon and Hajiya Hadiza Kwali, together with their thousands of supporters, recently joined APC in a development that is a big blow to the opposition in Gombe.

These are great grassroots politicians with strong support and influence.

You may recall that Shinga was Head of Housing/Acting Director, Housing since old Bauchi State, Special Assistant during Goje regime, former Caretaker Chairman Yamaltu- Deba LGA (three times), full time member 1 SUBEB (three times), Talba Campaign Co-ordinator, Yamaltu-Deba LGA 2015 and former contestant, State House of Assembly under PDP respectively.

Kwadon, on his part, was Ag. Deputy National Legal Adviser, former member PDP Interim NWC, House of Representatives aspirant under PDP and many more while Kwali was Councilor, National Women Leader (PDM), National Women Leader, Women for Jonathan and a board member.

Political pundits noted that Yahaya has done well within the period under review but pointed out that despite the fact that the political appointees were not helping matters as the governor was surrounded by “unserious politicians”, the defection is meaningless and would not count in the 2023 general elections in Gombe.