By Henry Umoru

Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central has exonerated President Bola Tinubu from recent defections from the opposition political parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, saying that he is not coercing any member of the opposition to the party in government, contrary to public criticism.

Bamidele, while justifying the defection of Senator Adamu Aliero, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, Senator Garba Maidoki, all from Kebbi Central, North and South Senatorial districts to the APC, noted that the ruling party “is now running a government of national unity.”

He made this clarification yesterday at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly Complex, Abuja, when the three lawmakers formally announced their defection to the APC.

The formal announcement was witnessed by the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Nasir Idris and APC National Organizing Secretary, Alhaji Sulaiman Argungu, among others.

Senator Adamu Aliero, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, Senator Garba Maidoki and all members of the House of Representatives informed President Tinubu at the weekend of their decision to join the ruling party at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Bamidele, who defended the defection of the federal lawmakers to the APC, noted that their decision was based on the overriding public interest and had nothing to do with turning Nigeria into a one-party state, adding that the ruling party “will not close our doors to anyone intending to join the party. In the same way, we will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion, tribe or any other factor. Our doors will remain open for more people to join at all levels.

“In the meantime, we will continue to work with the members of the minority political parties. It is not a coincidence that virtually all political parties, from the Young Progressives Party (YPP) to the Peoples Democratic Party, have to join the ruling APC.

“Even APGA, which has not joined the ruling party, has also graciously nominated and donated a honourable minister of state to the Federal Government of Nigeria under the APC administration. That is to say what we now are running is a government of national unity.”

Bamidele specifically commended the defectors for their decision to join the ruling APC while reflecting on how the PDP was coercing members of the opposition parties to defect to its fold when it was in government at the federal level.

He said, “We were all in this country when PDP was the ruling party. We saw all the things that happened under the PDP in an attempt to get more states, more seats in the Senate and more seats in the House of Representatives. We are not at the polls. No one is being coerced.

“If anyone is coerced, definitely the person is not Senator Adamu Aliero. We all know that the person who cannot be Senator Yahaya Abdullahi will be co-opted. Neither will Senator Garba Maidoki, with a stint in the private sector before he ventured into politics, defect to APC without clear conviction. They are not all in politics to feed themselves and their families.

“As far as we are concerned, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi that I know will rather stay in opposition and be very loud. They all recognise that this is not the time for grandstanding. This is the time for all of us to work together to take Nigeria to the next level.

“One of the defectors has been privileged to be the Governor of Kebbi State, from 1999 to 2007. He even served as the Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Today, he is the most ranking member of the Senate.

“Another one has served as the Leader of the Senate in the 9th National Assembly. These are people who know what they are doing. They can never mislead the people of Kebbi State. They can never mislead Nigeria.

“For us in APC, this is a wonderful development. For those who are keenly watching political developments, rest assured that at the end of the day, this can only be for the good and greatness of Nigeria. To the rest of our colleagues on the minority isle, we will continue to work together for the progress of Nigeria.

“I say it again for the umpteenth time. Those who refer to this parliament as a rubber stamp parliament should note that we are at a very critical stage of our national life when all hands must be on deck.

“Today, it is not about which political party you belong to. Once you are in this hallowed chamber, it does not matter which political party you belong to. What matters to us all is the overriding public interest. In the course of collectively serving overriding public interests, three of our colleagues saw the need to cross to the ruling APC.”

Vanguard News